Whitty advocates for taxing junk food to promote healthier lifestyles and increase children’s life expectancy
England’s Chief Medical Officer Professor Sir Chris Whitty is calling for increased government intervention to address “solvable problems” in cities, particularly the high cost of healthier food compared to junk. Lack of access to healthy food in urban areas, combined with junk food advertising, is leading children to live shorter and unhealthier lives, according to Whitty’s annual report.
The report highlights the existence of “healthy food deserts” in cities and emphasizes the need for government action to address this issue. Whitty notes that healthy food is almost twice as expensive as unhealthy food per calorie, impacting poorer individuals the most. Inner city residents, especially children and families, have limited access to affordable healthy food choices and are disproportionately exposed to unhealthy food advertising.
Whitty proposes measures such as taxes on junk food, healthy food sales targets, and mandatory reporting by businesses on the types and volumes of food they sell to promote healthier eating habits. The report also suggests implementing an “excess profits” tax on retailers or producers of high-sugar and high-salt products.
The report also addresses health inequalities caused by the availability of unhealthy food options in poorer areas, leading to obesity and related diseases. It calls for reforms in the food environment, active travel promotion, and improved local health services to combat these issues in cities.
The government has announced a pre-watershed ban on TV advertising of junk food, aiming to reduce children’s calorie intake. The NHS survey indicates high obesity rates among children aged 2 to 10 in England. Whitty’s report covers various public health issues, including housing problems, disease prevention, epidemics, and vaccination rates decline in cities.
While the report provides recommendations to the government, it is not legally binding. Critics argue that taxes on unhealthy foods may disproportionately affect the poor, leading to increased consumption of junk food. Additionally, concerns have been raised about blanket health warnings on ultra-processed foods without sufficient scientific evidence.
