This week I met with the Obesity Health Alliance to back their campaign to get the Government to make tackling childhood obesity a priority.

Childhood obesity in the UK has reached an all time-high, with around a third of all children in year six now identified as overweight or obese.

Obesity in childhood increases the risk of developing serious health issues such as Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer later in life. And research shows that the most disadvantaged children are twice as likely to become obese with unhealthy foods often being the most affordable.

Before the election, the Tories introduced a tax for companies selling high sugar soft drinks, but are yet to fully implement it. So much more can and needs to be done to tackle the bigger problem. Children are still exposed to junk food advertising whilst watching prime time family television programmes. The focus on sugar neglects other high risk ingredients like salt, saturated fats and calorie content.

It’s essential that the Government takes action to deal with the health risks that this poses to children.