Action on Sugar Responds to Weight Loss Surgery Plans to Tackle Diabetes

14 Jul 2014 --- Action on Sugar has responded to the news that an expansion of weight loss surgery in England is being proposed to tackle an epidemic of type 2 diabetes. The campaign group is urging the Government to take notice of the 7-point plant it submitted earlier this year, which proposed “clear measures” to stop obesity and type 2 diabetes.

The Action on Sugar response refers directly to new draft guidelines from the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) which aim to reduce debilitating complications relating to diabetes.

But Action on Sugar says it has already proposed a coherent 7-point plan to stop obesity and type II diabetes in its tracks by “firstly moving nutrition back to an independent body, the Food Standards Agency”. The group says the FSA is “respected by the food industry and has the necessary powers to control it and provide a level playing field so that they can quickly reformulate these unhealthy foods with far less sugar, far less fat and far less salt and very importantly know that their rivals have to do the same”.

Another part of the 7-point plans is to ban all forms of advertising of unhealthy foods to children. “We need to restrict availability of foods, particularly to children, and at the same time impose a tax on sugar, and particularly sweetened soft drinks to reduce consumption,” Action on Sugar stated. 

“We now need Jeremy Hunt to immediately implement these actions as this will stop more and more people becoming obese and developing type ll diabetes. If he does not act now the NHS will be bankrupted by a tidal wave of type ll diabetes,” said Professor Graham MacGregor, Chairman of Action on Sugar. 

Diabetes UK estimates 850,000 people could be eligible for surgery, but NICE expects it to be tens of thousands. Type 2 diabetes is closely linked to lifestyle and obesity.

The inability to control blood sugar levels can result in blindness, amputations and nerve damage. A mounting body of evidence suggests a gastric bypass improves symptoms in around 60% of patients.

Around a tenth of NHS budgets is spent on diabetes.