Government obesity panel quietly abolished

A panel of advisers on tackling obesity has been disbanded over claims the Government was too sympathetic to the food and drink industry.

Members of the advisory group, which was set up under Labour, said the Government preferred to consult food and drink firms than scientific experts over Britain's obesity crisis.

Last year, Mr Lansley came under fire for ruling out an anti-junk food law while asking the food and drink sector to fund the Change 4 Life health campaign. Announcing the plans to reduce taxpayer spending on promoting healthy living, he said: "We will be pressing industry for actual funding."

Coca-Cola, Mars, Kraft, Nestle and PepsiCo were already involved in the Change 4 Life campaign, which advertised lifestyle changes on television.

Tam Fry, of the National Obesity Forum, described the decision as "nothing other than a bare-faced request for cash from a rich food and drink industry to bail out a cash-starved Department of Health campaign."


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/dietandfitness/8895608/Government-obesity-panel-quietly-abolished.html