Snacking 'should be as shameful as smoking': Make grazing on unhealthy food socially unacceptable to fight obesity, expert claims

All meals should be served with vegetables, snacking should be socially unacceptable and a fizzy drinks tax must be introduced if the obesity epidemic is to be tackled, an expert said today.

The Government's anti-obesity adviser said she wants food policy to be subjected to the same tough regulations as the tobacco industry.

Professor Susan Jebb, from Oxford University, said social norms are 'terribly important', and as such, grazing on unhealthy snacks should be viewed in the same way as a smoking indoors.

Poor diet is a leading cause of premature death in the UK, accounting for 12.5 per cent of the total burden of disease, primarily due to cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. 

Two thirds of adults are overweight or obese as a result of overeating.

In total obesity is linked to around 20 per cent of all ill health in the country, with 33,000 avoidable, early deaths a year, as a result.

Preventing these avoidable diseases should be the Government's focus, if the health service is to become more sustainable, Professor Jebb is expected to say tomorrow at the annual Oxford London Lecture. 

The components of a healthy diet, consuming less saturated fat, sugar and salt while instead eating more fibre, fruit and vegetables, are well known.

But to tackle the complex issues which have resulted in the rising tide of obesity in the UK, tougher measures are needed.

Professor Jebb, is expected to call for a tax on fizzy drinks to help tackle the issue.

But in addition, Professor Jebb believes society must start to think of unhealthy eating in the same way as people do now about smoking.

She told The Times: 'When I was small, eating or drinking on the street was really, really bad form.  

'The other norm I worry about is around vegetable eating, because in our house it would be inconceivable if a meal didn't come with vegetables... yet you go and have a meal out and often it will come without vegetables, you will have to buy those separately.' 

She questioned when as a society we will get to the point where it becomes normal to view vegetables as an integral part of each meal.

And she championed a more structured approach to meals, with less emphasis on grazing, noting when snacking it is difficult to know how much you have eaten.

Both the Conservatives and Labour have ruled out introducing a tax on junk food and fizzy drinks if they are to win the election on May 7.

But Professor Jebb accused politicians of being 'too weak', urging them to take tougher action.

 

Professor Susan Jebb, from Oxford University, is calling for a tax on fizzy drinks, which have no nutritional value but rot teeth, to start a series of new, tougher measures, to change the way society perceives unhealthy food and drink. She said: 'It sends out a powerful message that these are unhealthy foods and it is one way to start shifting consumer behaviour.' (File image)

She said fizzy drinks are a good place to introduce food taxation, because they have no nutritional value and rot teeth.

The leading cause of childhood admissions in the this country is tooth decay, other experts have highlighted.

Professor Jebb added: 'It sends out a powerful message that these are unhealthy foods and it is one way to start shifting consumer behaviour.' 

The only reason such a tax is not yet reality, is because of fears it will be 'publicly unpopular', she said. 

Tam Fry, of the National Obesity Forum, told MailOnline while he welcomes Professor Jebb's ideas they would take at least 20 years to implement.

'The wish list that we can change attitudes towards not snacking in public is, in my view, unrealistic,' he said.

'We now have the mind set that we eat on the go, snacking anywhere, in front of the TV, in the car, anywhere.

Professor Susan Jebb is one of the key anti-obesity advisers to the Government

'There is good evidence that suggests meal times are now set when people choose them to be, rather than being the set morning, lunch time and evening meals.

'Altering public opinion is difficult, if we were really set on it would take 20 years to change attitudes.

'If we really want to make improvements we have got to make sure the food we are eating and buying is as healthy as possible.'

He told MailOnline that legislation is 'absolutely necessary'.  

'If the level of taxation is as high as I think it should be, around 20 to 30 per cent I do think people would sit up and take notice,' he said.

'The question is how the taxation is applied. In my opinion it should be put on to the manufacturers.

'The Government needs to say to them that unless they bring down unhealthy levels of certain ingredients in their products they will be fined.

'And they need to make it clear the manufacturers cannot pass on the cost to consumers.

'Then it avoids the rise in the price of food, which affects those least able to pay the hardest. 

'We need legislation of some variety, Professor Jebb is absolutely right, some kind of tax on fizzy drinks is a no brainer, we should have seen it 10 years ago.'  

Professor Jebb pointed to evidence in Mexico where the number of people drinking fizzy drinks dropped dramatically after the government there introduced a 10 per cent tax on sugary beverages.

The nation is one of the heaviest in the Americas, with around 30 per cent of the population classed as being obese.

But a survey, carried out last summer, reveals the new tax is making its mark.

Just over half of the 1,500 people questioned said they have reduced their intake of sugary drinks since the fiscal measure was implemented. 

Weight loss expert Steve Miller said 'gentle, politically correct' strategies have failed to encourage people to lose weight.

Instead he said 'constructive fat shaming', and 'shock tactics' are the only way to help people realise they need to shed pounds.

He said: 'As a weight loss specialist I advocate shock tactics including strong restaurant warning signs that read "if you are fat, think before ordering". 

'Passengers on a plane should also pay for two seats if they are too fat, and irresponsible parents feeding their fat kids junk should be prosecuted. 

'In addition assistants in fast food chains should refuse to serve dangerously fat customers.

'The NHS needs to offer alternative solutions including hypnosis. 

'Shock tactics drives motivation high. Faffing about talking about food choices will no longer achieve the results we all want to see.'