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Public Health (England)

I wonder what our constituents will make of the complacency that is evident in the Minister’s remarks. The press today correctly reflects public anxiety over soaring obesity rates and reports that nearly a quarter of adults are now classed as clinically obese. This morning, Ofcom announced its proposals on the advertising of HFSS foods—those high in fat, sugar and salt—to children, yet the Minister did not refer to that once. We broadly welcome those recommendations and we are particularly pleased that a decision has now been made. We are delighted that it will be reviewed in autumn 2008. Clearly that is an important announcement, and I should have thought that the Minister would start her remarks by referring to it , but on that subject she was silent.