Obesity
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has announced its plans for an overhaul of the way food is promoted to children. It hopes to redress the imbalance of children's diets at a time when talks of an obesity crisis are dominating headlines.
A plan of action, which outlines a range of initiatives, has been put in place by the FSA. It plans to develop advice and guidelines for the food industry on reducing the amount of fat, salt and sugar in products and labelling these products so consumers are able to identify healthier options.
It also plans to work with schools to push for healthier foods to be placed higher up the school menu and increase the number of healthy options available in vending machines. Sir John Krebs, chair of the FSA, said it wanted to promote healthier eating choices to children. "Children are bomb-arded with messages that promote food high in fat, salt and sugar. The evidence shows that these messages do influence children. Eating too much of these foods is storing up health problems for their future," he said.