Bolder action needed to improve diets and tackle obesity, ministers told

More urgent and bolder action is needed to improve Scotland’s diet and tackle growing obesity rates, the nation’s food standards experts have said.

Food Standards Scotland (FSS) said recent moves towards a preventative approach have helped but progress remains too slow and Scotland is lagging behind the rest of the UK in some areas.

Results from the latest Scottish Health Survey, which was conducted in 2023, showed 32% of adults were living with obesity, up from 24% on 2003.

FSS welcomed plans for restrictions on the promotion of high fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) food, but said a more fundamental change is needed.

The agency will be writing to Health Secretary Neil Gray to call for a more joined-up approach – including on areas reserved to Westminster such as the sugar levy and food labelling.

FSS board chairwoman Heather Kelman said: “We welcome the direction of travel, but action must be stronger, faster, and better resourced.

“Public health cannot continue to take a back seat to commercial interests. Delays and compromises only serve to deepen existing health inequalities with a continuing increase in dietary-related health costs.”

She noted that Scotland faces some of the worst diet-related health outcomes in Europe, including on obesity and Type 2 diabetes.

Mrs Kelman continued: “Without urgent and co-ordinated action, Scotland risks missing its ambition to halve childhood obesity by 2030, and allowing diet-related illness to continue placing unsustainable pressure on the NHS.

“Clinical solutions can help but are not a panacea and preventing dietary related ill-health conditions is still a much better solution.

“We need a bold strategy to reshape the food environment. The intent is there.

“Now we need delivery, leadership, and the political will across all UK administrations to follow through.”

Food Standards Scotland was established in 2015 as a non-ministerial agency separate from the Scottish Government, with one of its remits being to improve the nation’s diet.

Public health minister Jenni Minto said: “Ensuring everyone in Scotland eats well, has a healthy weight and is physically active is a key priority for the Scottish Government’s public health agenda.

“We are working to make healthier choices easier and supporting everyone to be more active.

“As a part of this action, we are restricting the promotion of foods high in fat, salt and sugar that are most likely to contribute to childhood obesity. These regulations are an important step to reduce the health harms caused by poor diet.

“We have strengthened requirements on providing a balanced and nutritious diet for children in schools to consume the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables a day.”