Action on Salt | Action on Sugar | World Action on Salt, Sugar and Health

We’re proud to be part of the #RecipeForChange campaign and alongside Sustain: The alliance for better food and farming, The Food Foundation Obesity Health Alliance, Impact on Urban Health, and British Heart Foundation have signed an open letter to the Chancellor and Health Secretary calling for more ambitious Government plans for a healthier food industry, as new polling reveals low public trust in companies.  Government intervention is vital to change food industry standards - polling shows 74% of British adults do not believe food companies are honest about the health impacts of their products, and only 13% believe food companies will make a change without Government involvement. The polls also show 68% of the British public are in support of expanding the sugary drink tax onto other unhealthy food and drink products, if the money raised supported children’s food and health initiatives. We encourage the Government, Rt Hon Rachel Reeves and Rt. Hon. Wes Streeting MP to be more ambitious in their plans to build a healthier food industry. Read the full story: https://lnkd.in/eWzwwqGP

𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘀: 𝗮 𝗸𝗲𝘆 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 Our colleague Dr. Monique Tan from WIPH Centre for Public Health and Policy (QMUL) has written a great commentary for the Lancet Public Health on need for mandatory salt targets 👏 Main take home points: 🧂 Setting targets is an effective approach to improved public health, particularly in countries where the majority of our salt intake is already in the foods we buy 🧂 Mandatory targets are not only cost-effective, as declared by the World Health Organisation, but also cost-saving 🧂 Food industry lobbying is a major barrier in getting targets over the line, despite the proven benefits to society Read more 👇 https://lnkd.in/eEfgfCu9

💼 Budget Announcement 💼 Today, the UK's first female Chancellor Rachel Reeves has presented the Labour government's first #budget to Parliament in 14 years. Whilst there is a lot to digest, one main takeaway was the announcement of the uprating of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy, which will increase each year over the next 5 years to reflect the 27% Consumer Price Index.   We welcome this decision, which was put forward as part of our submission to the budget this year. This move is a positive yet obvious first step towards tackling the pressing health issues associated with poor diets, which are increasingly affecting our communities. Increasing the soft drinks levy is a proven strategy to reduce sugar intake. Since its introduction, the levy has not only encouraged manufacturers to reformulate their products, but it has also meaningfully shifted consumer choices away from high-sugar drinks. This tax adjustment ensures the continued effectiveness of the levy by maintaining its economic impact. While we applaud this development, we also recognise that this measure alone is not sufficient to address the broader challenges of dietary health. For too long, the food and drink industry has had a disproportionate influence on health policies, often prioritising profit over the well-being of consumers. We now urge the government to consider additional, robust measures, such as introducing salt and sugar taxes on food manufacturers – a recommendation strongly supported by the recent report, published by the House of Lords Food Diet and Obesity Committee. By broadening the scope of health-focused fiscal policies, we can create a more sustainable and impactful improvement in public health.  

Today's UK House of Lords Food, Diet and Obesity Committee report has provided a wealth of recommendations to build a food system we can be proud of. One that is designed to equally support everyone to be able to live a healthy life. It is great to see some of the evidence we delivered mentioned in the report, including: - Calling for an independent group to oversee nutrition - Mandatory policies are more effective than voluntary - Stronger compositional and marketing guidelines are needed for infant food - Salt reduction was more effective under the FSA when the food industry was held to account through strict monitoring and engagement - Stricter legislation is needed on the use of child friendly packaging on unhealthy food and drink https://lnkd.in/eD8DTdR3

Please join me on Friday at 11am to discuss the new House of Lords report on Food, Diet and Obesity, with Baroness Walmsley the committee chair, hot off the press! Register here! https://lnkd.in/eTfPjrc9

NEW RESEARCH published in the Journal Hypertension confirms that halving salt intake can significantly lower blood pressure in individuals already on treatment for high blood pressure (https://rb.gy/6ol2pq). Using data from 35 clinical trials, the authors found that for every 3g reduction in salt, there is an average decrease of approximately 3.5 mmHg in systolic blood pressure and 2 mmHg diastolic blood pressure. Reducing salt is the most cost-effective way to lower blood pressure and prevent death and disability from stroke, heart and kidney disease. A reduction of 1g in population salt intake could save >4,000 premature deaths/year. But with most of the salt in our diets already in the foods we buy, it's impossible to cut back without government intervention, and food industry involvement. It is estimated that over 1 in 4 adults in the UK, have high blood pressure, but as many as 5 million people do not know it, as it is relatively symptomless. High blood pressure is responsible for more than half of all strokes and heart attacks. These findings flag the importance of promoting salt reduction across all populations, including those with high blood pressure on medication Integrating salt reduction in standard care has potential for better BP control, reduced reliance on drugs & lower healthcare costs. Coinciding with #KnowYourNumbers, we and Blood Pressure UK are advocating for stronger public health initiatives to lower salt consumption and call for updated clinical recommendations that reflect these new findings. More details of the research https://lnkd.in/emJMYNCS

One week to go to apply to be our new Communications Officer! Come support the team working across our influential research and advocacy work on salt and sugar reduction. https://lnkd.in/dAzGXXhW

I recently had the opportunity to discuss our latest research on out-of-home (OOH) foods and drinks in an interview with William Bradford Nichols from Nutrition Insight. OOH food (i.e., from restaurants, takeaways, and cafes) now contributes to a quarter of our calorie intake in the UK. However, our research revealed that complete nutrition data for these products is often not publicly available, highlighting a significant gap in transparency, especially as these foods become a more regular part of our diets. Our findings also showed that a substantial share of the best-selling OOH products are not healthy according to various healthiness metrics. Current models, like the UK nutrient profile model, often fall short because they don’t account for oversized portions, which are common in the OOH sector. Increasing nutritional transparency is crucial. Not just for helping consumers make better choices, but also for incentivising companies to reformulate their products and enabling Government to develop more effective public health policies. You can watch the full interview where I discuss these findings in more detail here https://lnkd.in/ezTSSWER. You can access the research report here: https://lnkd.in/eAWweNgp Thank you William for the insightful conversation! #PublicHealth #Nutrition #OutofHome #Research #FoodPolicy #NutritionResearch

I’m pleased to share a powerful op-ed by Thomas Abrams & Georgie Cowell from ShareAction, published in Open Access Government. The piece highlights critical findings from our recent research (https://lnkd.in/eAWweNgp), which assessed product healthiness in the out-of-home (OOH) food sector. The op-ed makes a compelling case for greater nutrition transparency, which could be a game-changer in promoting healthier eating habits. It also calls on companies, policymakers, and investors to take bold action to improve the healthiness of OOH food options. It’s time for the OOH food industry to step up, improve on transparency, and take responsibility for the health impact of their products. I encourage everyone interested in public health, nutrition, and corporate responsibility to read this insightful piece. The full op-ed is available here: https://lnkd.in/emFjui2D #PublicHealth #Nutrition #OutofHome #Research #FoodPolicy #NutritionResearch #HealthyEating #CorporateResponsibility

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