The All-Party Parliamentary Health Group recently partnered with the APPG on Obesity to host the launch of a new report by the House of Lords’ Food, Diet, and Obesity Committee.  

Chaired in Parliament by Sheila Dillon, presenter of BBC Radio 4’s The Food Programme, the launch of ‘Recipe for health: a plan to fix our broken food system’, brought together key stakeholders and experts to discuss how the new Government can develop a comprehensive, long-term strategy to fix the UK food system. 

The Committee’s inquiry was chaired by Baroness Walmsley and gathered evidence across the past year to establish how policymakers can build a food system that “enables us all to live health lives, protects the NHS, and better ensures the nation’s prosperity”. 

Ultra-processed foods and foods high in fat, salt, and sugar were a key focus of the inquiry, with analysis examining their impact on health, particularly their role in contributing to obesity and poor nutrition.  

The Committee’s report has set out a plan to “fix the food system so that we can all eat better diets, and therefore live healthier lives”. It can be read here.  

Participants and panellists provided their own insights on these challenges and outlined the importance of a more balanced food system to delivering the preventative health model pursued by the new Government. 

Determinants of individual diets were also discussed, with panellists examining the impact of inequality and a higher cost of living, the expenditure by fast food companies on advertising, and the addictiveness of ultra-processed foods.  

The launch featured excellent contributions from: 

• Sheila Dillon, Presenter of BBC Radio 4’s The Food Programme.  
• Simon Opher MP, Chair of the Health APPG. 
• Baroness Walmsley, Inquiry Chair. 
• Dr Jeanelle de Gruchy, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England. 
• Alice Wiseman, Vice President, Association of Directors of Public Health. 
• Mary Glindon MP, Chair of the Obesity APPG. 

Nutrition and healthy diets will be a focus of the Health APPG during this Parliament. For more information on the APPG and its work, please contact jasmin.adebisi [at] policyconnect.org.uk (jasmin[dot]adebisi[at]policyconnect[dot]org[dot]uk).