CHILDREN'S FOOD

Motion Text

That this House believes that, while the Government has introduced some measures to improve school meals, the crisis in children's diet-related health remains; notes that data from the Health Survey for England shows that between 1995 and 2003, the prevalence of obesity among children under 11 years rose from 9.9 per cent. to 13.7 per cent; welcomes the British Medical Association's report calling for tough action to tackle this alarming increase; recognises that in order to defuse the Food Standard Agency's `diet timebomb', additional measures are needed to address a number of factors, including marketing to children of foods containing high levels of fat, sugar and salt, the poor composition of foods on sale in schools, the lack of practical cooking skills in the national curriculum and insufficient promotion to children of healthy foods; and therefore supports in principle the provisions under the Children's Food Bill, introduced in the last Parliament and supported by 248 honourable Members and 137 national organisations, which seek a range of statutory measures to improve children's diets and future health.