FSS calls for urgent, bolder action to improve Scotland’s diet and health

FSS today welcomed recent commitments from the Scottish Government to improve public health by taking a preventative approach, but warned that progress remains too slow and not far-reaching enough to meet the scale of Scotland’s health challenges.

The publication of the Population Health Framework (PHF) and announcement to introduce restrictions on the promotion of high fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) products are seen as important steps in the right direction. However, FSS cautions that the current proposals fall short of delivering the scale of change needed to transform Scotland’s food environment.

“We welcome the direction of travel, but action must be stronger, faster, and better resourced,” said Heather Kelman, Chair of the FSS Board. “Public health cannot continue to take a back seat to commercial interests. Delays and compromises only serve to deepen existing health inequalities with a continuing increase in dietary related health costs.”

Scotland continues to face some of the poorest diet-related health outcomes in Europe. Levels of obesity, type 2 diabetes and other non-communicable diseases are rising, particularly among  those in the most deprived communities.

Public Health Scotland data shows that children living in the most deprived areas are now more than twice as likely to be at risk of obesity compared to those in the least deprived areas.

FSS warns that the current restrictions on food promotions must go further if they are to be fully effective. FSS evidence shows that expanding measures to include temporary price reductions, for example, could result in a fourfold greater reduction in calories purchased.

Mrs Kelman continued: “This should not be  a choice between health or growth. When HFSS sales increase, the NHS and taxpayers pick up the bill. Of course we recognise that growth is important, but we need a system that prioritises public health over commercial interests.”

FSS also noted that Scotland continues to lag behind other parts of the UK in implementing diet-related measures and is calling for stronger collaboration with the UK Government to tackle shared challenges.

FSS will be writing to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to urge a more joined-up and ambitious approach to reserved issues such as food marketing, extension of the sugar levy and labelling. There is also a clear case for mandation being made by industry themselves that can no longer be ignored.

Mrs Kelman continued: “Without urgent and coordinated action, Scotland risks missing its ambition to halve childhood obesity by 2030, and allowing diet-related illness to continue placing unsustainable pressure on the NHS. Clinical solutions can help but are not a panacea and preventing dietary related ill-health conditions is still a much better solution.

“We need a bold  strategy  to reshape the food environment. The intent is there. Now we need delivery, leadership, and the political will across all UK administrations to follow through.”

FSS remains committed to working in partnership with the Scottish Government, Public Health Scotland, and others to deliver meaningful, lasting improvements to the nation’s diet. A clear and fully resourced delivery plan is now essential to turn strategy into sustained impact.