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Combating Obesity

I certainly agree with my hon. Friend. As a constituency neighbour of hers, I know that Bristol is a cycling city: it is undertaking the ““active Bristol”” programme and considering how it can improve its parks, provide family-centred facilities and safe corridors for family activities, so that children can undertake that exercise. It is a small step, if the House will forgive the pun, and it also enables children to set an example to their parents. Of course it is about money, and the Government have invested in such programmes, but it is also about creating a movement. At the centre of what we are doing is the Change4Life movement, which is a huge coalition for better health that brings together many different initiatives under one banner. Returning to the point that my hon. Friend the Member for North-West Leicestershire (David Taylor) made, before I received notice of this debate I was supposed to be in Newcastle for the first Change4Life partnership with local convenience stores, which will help to break a simple barrier to good health: the fact, that in some parts of the country, local shops simply do not stock fresh fruit and veg. The project is about making that easier, by supporting retailers and working with them. The first step is the launch of 12 development stores, which will be provided with funding, so that they can offer such opportunities. By May next year, it is hoped that there will be 120 such stores across the north-east. Assuming that the scheme is successful, it will be rolled out across the country. We have every reason to believe that it will be successful, because similar projects have worked in Scotland. This is not just one issue—we have to look at wider considerations and say which organisations and agencies must come together to develop and support a wide range of initiatives at community level. What is happening in the north-east is mirrored across England. The coalition is impressive, and 12,000 grassroots organisations are involved in Change4Life, working with leading charities and big high-street names such as Asda, Tesco, Kellogg’s and PepsiCo. It is about breakfast clubs, sponsoring sport and making sure that people can make those changes to their lifestyle. Fittingly, a year on from the foresight report, this week we have announced the nine areas chosen to become ““healthy towns””, receiving a share of £30 million to pioneer approaches that will enhance choices for their local communities and their ability to live a healthy life. Manchester has seen the launch of the Points4Life loyalty card, which rewards people with free activities or healthy food when they visit the gym or take exercise. Tower Hamlets is running a scheme to persuade shops and restaurants on the main road to the Olympic park to push healthier options. In Tewkesbury, people are developing an urban garden programme which will help residents to keep fit, rebuild green space in the wake of last year’s floods, and make sure that they have access to such opportunities. We must celebrate and encourage that diversity of approach, because obesity is not confined to one social group or area, and we know it is exacerbated by poverty. That also means getting the message across that Change4Life is for everyone: children, busy parents, health professionals, and even hon. Members and, dare I say, Ministers of State. We all need to get involved because we can all benefit. In challenging economic times, when family budgets are under pressure, we must spell out the message that healthy eating does not have to be expensive. In fact, as the hon. Member for North-West Cambridgeshire (Mr. Vara) said, healthy home-cooked food is often considerably cheaper than a takeaway burger or pizza. This is not about interfering in people’s lives, or about creating a nanny state, but we are not prepared to neglect the issues that face us, or hide behind vague notions of nudging people to better health. Quite simply, the cost of inaction and neglect is too great. It is the human cost of 9,000 premature deaths a year because of obesity. It is the increasing economic damage from the causes of rising chronic disease, and it is the cost to our society, rising to £50 billion a year within two generations, if we do not tackle the problem. In the face of those dangers, we need concrete action, not platitudes. Our obesity strategy is a comprehensive, proactive agenda for change, delivered for communities, by local communities, in local communities. I am confident that that will help our nation to shed the pounds, and give us all the chance to lead healthier and more enjoyable lives.