Health group calls for ‘sugar tax’ to cut child obesity
A “sugar tax” should be introduced by the UK government to help curb obesity in childhood, a campaign group says.
Action on Sugar has produced a plan to discourage children from consuming foods and soft drinks with high levels of added sugar. The group wants measures brought in to cut added sugar in food by 40% by 2020, to cut fat in foods and to ban sports sponsorship by “junk food” companies. The Department of Health has said it will consider the recommendations. Action on Sugar is a group of specialists concerned with sugar and its effects on health. It says one in five 10 to 11-year-olds in the UK are now obese, while one in three are overweight. The group has produced an action plan for the government following a request for its views from Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt.
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