The Health Education Trust

Policy and Action for Cancer Prevention
Food, Nutrition, and Physical Activity: a Global Perspective
World Cancer Research Fund / American Institute for Cancer Research

Whilst some of the world’s population, particularly those in low income countries have too little food, people in middle- and high-income countries have too much food, which can increase the risk of a range of non-communicable diseases including cancer. This is compounded by the increasingly sedentary nature of many people’s lives around the world. The recommendations seen in the next box are straightforward, and if acted upon, could make a dramatic difference to cancer globally.

Recommendations from the report

• Be as lean as possible within the normal range of bady weight
• Be physically active as part of everyday life
• Limit consumption of energy-dense foods. Avoid sugary drinks
• Eat mostly foods of plant origin
• Limit intake of red meat and avoid processed meat
• Limit alcoholic drinks
• Limit salt intake. Avoid mouldy cereal or pulses
• Aim to meet nutritional needs through diet alone
• Mothers to breastfeed; children to be breastfed
• Cancer survivors to follow the recommendations for cancer prevention

Full report can be downloaded from http://www.dietandcancerreport.org/

Report from Cabinet Office
Food Matters: A strategy for the 21st century
The Strategy Unit: July 2008

This report aims “to review the main trends in food production and consumption in the UK, to analyse the implications of those trends for the economy, to assess the robustness of the current food policy framework for food, and to determine what the objectives of future food strategy should be and the measures needed to achieve them.”

In the UK in recent years diet and attitudes to food have changed. There is an increased demand for better quality food, and people want to eat more healthily and with a reduced impact on the Environment, however consumers also want affordability and convenience. The less well off continue to devote a significantly higher proportion of their income to buying food than the better off. An estimated 70,000 premature deaths in the UK could be avoided each year if UK diets matched nutritional guidelines.

Key actions and conclusions from the report:

• To bring together integrated information and advice for consumers on the impacts of food on health and the environment.
• To make it easier for consumers to make healthy choices when eating out.
• To recognise that community groups, voluntary organisations and social enterprises have an important role to play in supporting activities that promote healthy eating.
• Improved approaches to food safety are required.
• To increase the average daily consumption of fruit and vegetables, continuing the work of the 5 a day campaign. Vulnerable groups will be targeted and work will be undertaken with the food industry to help improve the 5 a day targets.
• More nutritious, environmentally sustainable food will be delivered through a new ‘Healthier Food Mark’ which will be piloted first in central government, HM Prison Service and NHS services. This will then be rolled out to all public bodies in England to ensure a minimum standard of healthier.
• Due to recent food price rises the UK Government will work with international agencies to redouble efforts to raise agricultural productivity, especially in Africa.
• Maintaining global food security while responding to climate change
• UK consumers spend an average of £420 per household each year on food that they throw away. Eliminating household food waste is a target
• The Cabinet Office will establish and support a Food Strategy Task Force to monitor, drive and publish reports on progress.

The summary report can be viewed here.

Tackling Obesities: Future Choices

This project aimed “to produce a long term vision of how we can deliver a sustainable response to obesity in the UK over the next 40 years” by assembling scientific evidence and expertise from academic disciplines such as epidemiology, food science, genetics, psychology and sociology.

The UKs current median Body Mass Index is now above what is considered to be within a ‘healthy’ range. We are currently in danger of obesity ultimately becoming the normal condition.

An unhealthy weight is often seen as a result of individual choice on diet, exercise and lifestyle, but this report highlights the complicated sociological and biological factors involved in weight gain. Our current society has evolved radically over the past five decades. These changes have affected work patterns, transport, food production and food sales, all of which have been unhelpful in the reduction of obesity and have indeed helped towards this ‘epidemic’.

This report concluded that “Obesity is a consequence of abundance, convenience and underlying biology.”

The report represents an independent scientific enquiry and does not represent government policy. The report findings were released in October 2007

Core principles for tackling obesity:

1. A system-wide approach, redefining the nation’s health as a societal and economic issue
2. Higher priority for the prevention of health problems, with clearer leadership, accountability, strategy and management structures
3. Engagement of stakeholders within and outside Government
4. Long-term, sustained interventions
5. Ongoing evaluation and a focus on continuous improvement

The full report can be found at The Government Office for Statistics Foresight Website.