Cross Party Group on Food

Let’s Get Real: Obesity Kills

 

Date: Wednesday 23rd May 2018

Location: Conference Room A, Tŷ Hywel  

 

In attendance:

AMs

Jenny Rathbone AM              

 

AM Support staff

Peter Wong                             Senior Adviser, Jenny Rathbone’s Office

External Stakeholders

Lisa Williams                           Public Health Wales (Dietician) (Speaker)

Andy Glyde                             Cancer Research UK (Speaker)

Clare Bath                               Cancer Research UK

Sarah Thomas                        National Federation of Women's Institutes (NFWI) Wales

Maura Matthews                     Prevention Lead, Tenovus

Stephanie Hall                        Preventions Campaigns Advisor, Tenovus

Nike Arowobusoye              Public Health Wales (Consultant in Public Health Medicine)

Hugh Jones                             Food Waste Prevention (WRAP Cymru)

Natalie Field                            Public Health Wales (Consultant in Public Health)

Katie Palmer                           Food Cardiff

 

 

1)    Presentation by Andy Glyde, Cancer Research UK, and Co-chair Obesity Alliance Cymru

Key points:

·         Link between Obesity and Cancer: 2nd biggest cause of cancer, and accounts for 1K out of 19K cancers

·         Inequality plays a big role: 17% of children in Vale of Glamorgan obese, compared to 32% in Merthyr

·         NHS spends £86M a year on obesity

·         Scotland further ahead on their strategy

·         England will release chapter 2 of obesity strategy soon

·         Cancer UK and Obesity Alliance are working closely with Welsh Government on regulation: things like restricting price promotions on unhealthy food (multi-buys etc.). Lot of evidence to show these influence behaviour – leading to increase in number of calories bought. E.g. in Scotland: 50% of unhealthy food bought on promotion, compared to 30% of healthy food

·         Research from Scotland and Finland shows proximity of hot food takeaways makes us fat!

·         42% of teenagers can walk to hot food outlet from School in 2 mins

What is expected of local authorities in these areas?

     We need to restrict hot food takeaways close to schools

Healthy Eating regulations in school are good, but how well are they being used? No references in Estyn inspection criteria

 

Junk food marketing has a massive impact – need to campaign for 9pm watershed

Welsh Strategy needs to be Bold and Ambitious; but sensitive on stigma, fat shaming

Recent Cancer UK campaign: Post campaign survey showed 8% found it offensive, but 84% thought it effective.  Increased awareness that obesity is linked to Cancer from 17% to 43%.

 

2)    Presentation by Lisa Williams Public Health Wales (Dietician)

Key points:

·         Mapped services in NHS to obesity pathway

·         Identified the gaps – Now needs to be in all areas of wales

·         Community development approach – training local champions

·         Accredited training

·         Importance of Foodwise for Life as a structured programme

·         Dietetic input into Flying Start programmes

 

3)    Discussion

 

·         KP– planning categories differentiate junk food outlets from others elsewhere in UK – but in Wales they are all under the same A3 category, so need to look at business rates differentiation

·         Cardiff mapping exercise done (to be released)

·         Peas Please progress: 50% of grocery market signed up

·         1.2% of advertising spend on veg

·         Every £1 spent on veg, £17.60 spent on fast food

·         ST – need to develop school curriculum cooking skills so there is no reliance on package foods

·         KP - School holiday enrichment programme – picked up by Estyn as good practice

·         MM - grant funded project served 50 people over 6 months but none referred from GP – recruited themselves

·         How do we get information to people who contact GPs about community services that they can access?

·         KP – social prescribing model – Lansdowne surgery pilot as an example

·         LW – Sensitivity of GPs raising the issue of weight

 

·         NA – no country in the world has cracked it – Scotland aspirational but not met their two targets

·         Child obesity trend is moving the wrong way

·         Lots of good small things – need coalescing into a big thing that supports behaviour change

·         However not a one-size-fits-all intervention - its multi-faceted

·         Japan – lowest prevalence of obesity – behaviour is different – and there is an adults programme where the employer is responsible and gets fined if employees are overweight!

·         KP – scope for looking at food as a public good – e.g. farmer paid for maintaining hedges and watercourses

·         HJ – desire to change must be there

·         NF – 10 steps to healthy weight

·         Huge mismatch between parents thinking that there is an obesity problem, but not recognising it in their own families.

·         So a Campaign and a package of support is required

·         So hard to lose weight – need to stop it in the first place – at a young age

·         LW - GP clusters for Foodwise for Life – preventative and proactive

·         GPs need to know where to refer people  - no point in having a conversation otherwise

 

4)      Agenda for next meeting

·         It was suggested that a future meeting could focus on food production and distribution.

·         Rather than the Autumn term, KP suggested potentially the 11th July, but this would be to tie in with an as yet unknown timing for a revised WG Food and Drink Strategy. Therefore dependent on KP updating us

Assembly reconvenes on 17th Sept