Liz Truss could scrap anti-obesity strategy in drive to cut red tape
The UK government could scrap its entire anti-obesity strategy after ministers ordered an official review of measures designed to deter people from eating junk food, the Guardian can reveal.
The review could pave the way for Liz Truss to lift the ban on sugary products being displayed at checkouts as well as “buy one get one free” multi-buy deals in shops. The restrictions on advertising certain products on TV before the 9pm watershed could also be ditched.
The review – which was ordered by the Treasury – is seen as part of the prime minister’s drive to cut burdens on business and help consumers through the cost of living crisis.
Whitehall sources said the review was “deregulatory in focus” and is expected to lead to the new government jettisoning a raft of anti-obesity policies inherited from Boris Johnson, Truss’s predecessor in Downing Street.
The process – which the Department of Health and Social Care referred to as an “internal summary” of the evidence around obesity policy – will also look at possibly ditching calorie counts on menus in many cafes, takeaways and restaurants. These are designed to encourage people to choose healthier dishes and only became mandatory in April.
The review is so radical in scope that it may even look at whether the sugar tax, which began in 2018 and has helped make soft drinks much less unhealthy, should go too. Health experts have hailed the levy as a key initiative in the fight against dangerous obesity.
“There doesn’t seem to be any appetite from Thérèse [Coffey – the new health secretary] for nanny state stuff,” one source said. Truss also made Coffey her deputy prime minister after taking office last week.
Officials at the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, the part of the
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