‘We must focus on preventative care’ says the guy from the government. So we’re going to send people into pubs, clubs, schools and factories to ask if anyone would like to be tested for obesity/overweight. ‘We’ll only take up 20 minutes of your time.’ In a pub? Anyone who volunteers maybe asked to take statins and some exercise in order to offset the chances of heart attack or stroke. I don’t recall smokers being asked if they would mind giving up smoking when the price of fags shot up. It’s going to cost about £7 million. The only way to improve the nation’s health is to increase taxes on sugar and salt and to gradually do to fast food what they did with cigarettes. Increase costs, stop outlets decamping near schools, stop fast food advertising, prevent it being sold in hospitals and public places eg parks, pools, schools, law courts, railways, stations etc. BUT at the same time with the taxes raised, subsidise locally sourced fresh produce and fish. It would help our farmers and fishermen and it would encourage people to eat more healthily.
