Written question asked by Paul Stinchcombe (Labour) on Wednesday, 7 July 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 15 July 2004. It was answered by Melanie Johnson (Labour) on Thursday, 15 July 2004 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Dept of Health

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the Government's primary targets are for action against childhood obesity; what the Government's assessment is of the primary causes of increasing obesity in children.

Answer: Mr. Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what the Government's primary targets are for action against childhood obesity; [183526] (2) what the Government's assessment is of the primary causes of increasing obesity in children. [183527] Miss Melanie Johnson: The primary cause of increasing obesity in children is to do with energy balance: children are eating too much for the amount of physical activity they do. A new primary public service agreement target, held jointly between the Department of Health, the Department for Education and Skills and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, was announced on 12 July 2004. The target aims to halt the year-on-year increase in the prevalence of obesity in children under 11 by 2010, in the context of a broader strategy to tackle obesity in the population as a whole.

Secondary information