Children's health and food

Launch of 'Every Child A Healthy Weight'

4 September 2019

3 min read

London’s Child Obesity Taskforce has today set out its calls to action so that every child in London can grow up with healthy and nutritious food options, plenty of water to drink, and opportunities to run and play.

The independent taskforce, which we are a lead partner of, has launched Every Child A Healthy Weight – Ten Ambitions for London. Calls to action include:

Making water more appealing and available
Increasing the number of ‘water-only’ schools
Allowing the Mayor to set the minimum wage for London to help end child poverty
Restricting takeaway and fast-food menus when unaccompanied children are likely to visit
Ofsted placing a stronger emphasis on healthy diet and activity

We are supporting the Taskforce in collaboration with Public Health England, The Association of Directors of Public Health London (ADPH London) and the Association of Directors of Children’s Services London (ADCS London).

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is committed to tackling these issues and created the taskforce of professionals to help drive change.

It’s shocking that our city has such high levels of child obesity and that our children’s health depends so much on who they are and where they live. We all have a role to play if we are to tackle this health crisis – so Londoners’ lives can be improved, reducing the burden on our overstretched health and care service.

Sadiq Khan Mayor of London

Childhood obesity in London

London currently has one of the highest rates of childhood obesity in Europe, with twice as many obese children in low-income areas compared to more affluent ones.

With the Taskforce, we aim to create proposals to halve the percentage of London’s primary school children who are overweight. We also want to reduce the gap between obesity rates in the richest and poorest areas of London by 2030.

If we add up all the children living in London, we have a population bigger than that of any other city in the UK. So it’s crucial that we do all we can to help London’s children lead healthy lives. This means creating environments that help all kids — regardless of how wealthy they are — eat well, play and develop. To get there, we each have a role: not just government, but also responsible businesses and even local communities.

Kieron Boyle Chief Executive