Fighting obesity: UK gov pilots £3M healthy choices app as teens fight “misleading” health claims

22 Oct 2021 --- The UK government has announced £3 million (US$4 million) in financial incentives for healthy living, to be made available to the public via a six-month pilot scheme app. It aims to encourage the public to eat healthier and exercise more, as almost 65% of the population lives with excess weight and obesity.

The measure comes as British youth-led campaign Bite Back 2030 is calling on the food industry to remove what it dubs ‘misleading health claims’ from products that are high in salt, sugar and (saturated) fat (HFSS).

“We hope responsible and forward-thinking businesses will take the lead, but if businesses can’t or won’t make voluntary commitments to end these misleading practices, then we will push much harder toward government recommendations,” Jacob Rosenberg, Bite Back Youth board member, tells NutritionInsight.

Incentives to swap unhealthy eating
Set to launch in January 2022, the UK government’s new pilot scheme is geared toward developing a new app linked to a wrist-worn device, which can generate personalized health recommendations, such as eating more fruit and vegetables and decreasing portion size.

Users will collect points for their behavior and, in turn, receive various rewards like vouchers or discounts. The funds for the incentives, amounting to £3 million (US$4 million), hail from the government’s department of health and social care.

The contract for the app was awarded to HeadUP Systems.

“This new pilot will pave the way for developing innovative ways to improve the lives of individuals, and also help to reduce strain on the NHS,” Health and Social Care Secretary, Sajid Javid says.Food industries are accused of misleading consumers with claims of healthy products.

Strain on the NHS
According to the UK government, obesity-related illnesses cost the NHS £6 billion (US$8 billion) a year.

The scale of the issue was heightened by COVID-19, which disproportionately affects overweight people, it notes.

The government is also slated to work with international partners running incentives schemes, such as Singapore’s National Steps Challenge, so as to better understand how to make them successful practices. 

Morally indefensible?
At the same time, Bite Back 2030, a charity co-founded by chef and activist Jamie Oliver, is seeking to have companies remove “misleading” health claims from their products, either voluntarily or through government regulations. 

HFSS products often have health and nutrition claims which cause 73% of teenagers to believe they are eating healthy when they are not, according to Don’t Hide What’s Inside, a new report carried out with UK charity Action on Sugar and Salt.

“It is morally indefensible for manufacturers to mislead shoppers into buying and eating food that looks healthy on the outside of the packet when it isn’t healthy on the inside. We are in an epidemic of childhood obesity,” Graham MacGregor, chairman of Action on Sugar and Salt, Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at Queen Mary University of London, says. 

More specifically, 57% of all surveyed products with health and nutrition claims were HFSS, the report says.

“There is a lack of incentive for brands to act responsibly. Right now, the legislation in place has so many loopholes that we are reliant on businesses choosing to do the right thing by child health,” Rosenberg notes.The UK is concerned about a child obesity epidemic and is attempting to change consumer habits toward healthier alternatives.

Calls for traffic labels
One of the core messages behind Bite Back 2030 is the traffic light system to be compulsory on all foods. This would mean HFSS items would have a red label, and products on the healthier side would have a green label. 

As it stands, almost 90% of young people believe smoothies are healthy, but 76% of juices and smoothies would receive a red traffic light label. Many smoothie products market themselves as part of a healthy lifestyle and balanced diet, when a typical smoothie is 83% of a teenager’s or adult’s daily allowance of free sugars, according to the findings.

Tight rope on advertising
The UK is continuing to tighten the noose around unhealthy eating, with advertising restrictions on unhealthy foods set to come into place in 2022. 

Issues surrounding child nutrition and obesity have been the source of many campaigns across the UK, with calls for a ban on child-friendly cereal packs.

Child-friendly packaging on items such as yogurts have also been deemed misleading after studies highlighted high sugar content in the products.

Earlier this year, Britain was deemed to be at a tipping point of a public health emergency, as figures showed that without government intervention, up to 5.5 million people in the UK, or one in ten, could be living with diabetes by 2030.

By Andria Kades