APPG on Obesity Publishes Policy Paper on Childhood Food Environment, Planning and School Food

21st April 2026

Today the APPG on Obesity has published a new policy paper on The Childhood Food Environment: Planning and School Food in Preventing Childhood Obesity, highlighting the structural factors shaping children’s diets and setting out practical recommendations for Government.

The paper focuses on two critical settings – school food and local food environments – and explores how these influence children’s health, particularly in more deprived communities. It finds that current systems do not consistently support healthy choices, and that inequalities in access to healthy food remain a key driver of childhood obesity.

The findings show that while schools are an important setting for intervention, they are often undermined by the wider food environment, including the concentration of fast-food outlets near schools and limited access to affordable, healthy food.

Key findings:

• Around one in five children leave primary school living with obesity, with higher rates in more deprived communities

• School meals are often healthier than packed lunches, but quality and consistency remain variable

• Over half of calories in school meals come from ultra-processed foods, highlighting gaps in current standards

• There is no consistent national system to monitor compliance with school food standards

• Fast-food outlets are disproportionately concentrated in deprived areas and near schools, reinforcing inequalities

• Local authorities face significant barriers in using planning powers, including high evidential burdens and legal challenges

The recommendations for Government from this programme are:

• Increase and index funding for free school meals to reflect the true cost of delivery

• Update and extend school food standards to reflect current dietary guidance and cover all food consumed during the school day

• Introduce a robust national monitoring and compliance system to ensure standards are consistently met

• Reform national planning policy to enable local authorities to take a more preventative approach to unhealthy food environments

• Deliver a cross-government strategy to improve access to healthy, affordable food in deprived communities

The APPG concludes that childhood obesity is driven by the environments in which children grow up, rather than individual choice alone. While recent policy developments – including updates to school food standards – are welcome, stronger, more coordinated action across government is needed to ensure all children have access to healthy food and to reduce widening inequalities.

APPG on Obesity Publishes Findings on Weight Management Services and Digital Innovation

2nd March 2026

Today the APPG on Obesity has published new findings on weight management service provision in England, alongside a policy paper on the role of digital services in improving access and outcomes. Drawing on FOI responses from all 42 Integrated Care Boards (ICBs), the work highlights significant structural weaknesses in current provision and sets out opportunities for reform.

The findings show that access to weight management services remains fragmented and inconsistent across England, with limited data, unclear funding, and a lack of integrated care pathways. Digital services are expanding rapidly, but are not yet embedded within a coherent national model.

Key findings:

• Over 85% of ICBs do not hold detailed referral data (e.g. by deprivation or ethnicity)

• More than 70% cannot provide clear funding data, and no ICB reported ringfenced budgets

• Many areas lack a unified obesity pathway, reinforcing a postcode lottery in access

• No ICB described a structured neighbourhood-based delivery model

• Digital services are growing quickly, but often operate outside integrated NHS pathways

The recommendations from this programme are:

For Government and NHS England:

1. Embed weight management services, including digital provision, within the Neighbourhood Health model to support community-based care

2. Introduce protected and transparent funding arrangements to reduce regional inequalities

3. Establish national commissioning standards to ensure digital and hybrid services are safe, effective, and fully integrated into care pathways

The APPG concludes that without clearer national leadership, funding transparency, and integration of digital innovation, weight management services risk remaining fragmented and inequitable, despite growing demand and technological advances.

APPG on Obesity Publishes Policy Paper on the Factors Contributing to Obesity

2nd February 2026

The APPG has published a new policy paper examining the key factors contributing to obesity across the UK. The paper draws on a series of expert roundtables with parliamentarians, clinicians, academics, and patient representatives to explore the complex drivers of obesity and identify opportunities for policy action.

The programme highlighted the need for a whole-systems approach to obesity, recognising the interplay between mental health, the food environment, prevention, and access to treatment. It emphasised that obesity is not solely a matter of individual responsibility, but is shaped by structural, psychological, and environmental factors.

The paper builds on previous APPG work and calls for more coordinated action across Government, the NHS, and Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) to improve prevention, reduce inequalities, and strengthen treatment pathways.

APPG on Obesity Launches ICS Forum - Patient Pathway Inquiry

13th February 2024

Today the APPG is launching its ICS Forum – Patient Pathway Inquiry. This programme heard from ICS directors, managers and health care professionals to understand how we can best support people living with obesity through primary care services, developing learnings and recommendations for ICSs to truly integrate care for people living with obesity.

This inquiry comes off the back of the APPG’s initial inquiry into ICSs: ‘The role of ICSs in supporting people living with obesity’, where it became clear more work must be done to ensure people living with obesity are effectively signposted through the healthcare system.

Eli Lilly and Company and Slimming World provided sponsorship funding to support the ICS Forum series and have had no input into the organisation or content of the series, or into this report.

The recommendations from this programme are:

For Government:

1) Review the tiering system within obesity services to rationalise and simplify the pathways for treatment for patients across the country.

2) Ensure obesity is included as a distinct category within the Major Conditions Strategy, to ensure it is given sufficient priority, due to its impact on other conditions.

3) Embed prevention as a major pillar of all policy-making in relation to obesity.

For NHS England:

1) Ensure accountability of ICSs to ensure equitable access to treatments for patients across the country.

2) Provide ring-fenced funding for the prevention of and treatment for obesity services at ICS level.

3) Provide training for clinicians on the options for preventing and treating obesity, as well as compassionate care, so that they can provide patients with the best level of care at all stages of the pathway.

For ICSs:

1) Align the policies of each CCG within the ICS structure to ensure consistent access to treatment within ICSs for all patients.

2) Ensure proper signposting of services for patients at all stages of the pathway, to ensure patients are fully aware of all treatment options available to them.

3) Provide a senior accountable officer at Executive Director level to ensure prevention of and treatments for obesity are prioritised within every area.

The APPG has published a report on the impact of the Government’s calorie labelling policy, 24th March 2023

On 19th July 2022 the APPG launched its latest report, ‘The role of integrated care systems in supporting people living with obesity’

A summary of recommendations can be found below:

For Integrated Care Systems (ICSs):

1) Every ICS to have a clearly defined list of community resources and a stakeholder map detailing how each partner is

engaged in the joint endeavour of supporting weight management services.

2) Individual ICSs to set out long term vision for obesity strategy in collaboration with all stakeholders, outlining a process

for knowledge sharing, agreed milestones, and with a mechanism for monitoring progress.

3) Appropriate training for all healthcare professionals to ensure appropriate and correct usage of language regarding

obesity, and broadening understanding of the causes and treatments for obesity.

4) A feedback loop must be created which allows improvement suggestions to flow up and down the obesity pathway,

from people living with obesity and GPs up to ICS leads and policy makers, and back down the chain. Third sector

organisations should be included in this process.

5) All ICSs to develop defined specialist teams to include professionals from across health and social care, embedded

within communities and operating at a tertiary level.

For Policy Makers and Government:

1) The Government should look to align the work of weight management with the levelling up agenda and obesity

strategies focused on prevention. This will allow those most in need to be supported first.

2) For patient involvement to be made a defined statutory requirement with a clearly defined role for patient engagement

in every level of the ICS.

3) Long-term, ring fenced funding to be made available for collaborative delivery across the obesity pathway.

In 2022 the APPG on Obesity Released UK Parliamentary Language Guidelines

In November 2020 the APPG launched its ‘The Future of Obesity Services’ Report

The APPG on Obesity’s second report, ‘The Future of Obesity Services’ was launched in November 2020. A summary of recommendations can be found below:

• The Government should continue to promote its ‘Better Health’ campaign and should build on this with a public information campaign about the range of support options, including treatment, available for people with obesity with a focus on overall health both in the short and long term.

• The Government should establish a cross-Departmental delivery panel to oversee the implementation of obesity policy, including a ‘whole-systems’ approach, and to measure and report on the success of these policies on obesity outcomes.

• The Government should commission research into the links between socioeconomic deprivation, ethnicity and obesity, consulting with experts and designing tailored strategies to reduce obesity in underserviced communities based on its findings.

• Integrated Care Systems should be mandated to develop an obesity prevention and treatment strategy for their population, strengthening existing services and sharing best practice across the network.

• The Government should provide clear national guidance on obesity treatment pathways and commissioning responsibilities and set a minimum standard for treatment at a local level. Furthermore, key incentives should be developed and put in place for implementation of the local obesity strategy and execution of services to change overall population health.

In 2018, the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Obesity launched its report into the current landscape of obesity services

The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Obesity launched its inquiry findings on 15th May 2018 at an official event in Parliament. 

Key findings of the report: 

• 88% of people with obesity who took part in the survey have been stigmatised, criticised or abused as a result of their obesity.

• 94% of all respondents believe that there is not enough understanding about the causes of obesity amongst the public, politicians and other stakeholders.

• 42% of people with obesity did not feel comfortable talking to their GP about their obesity.

• More than one third of people with obesity who completed the survey stated that they have not accessed any lifestyle or prevention services.

The report makes a number of recommendations, including:  

1. A national obesity strategy for both adult and childhood obesity should be developed and implemented by the Government, with input from key stakeholders. This should look to strengthen existing services and replicate best practice across the country.

2. Obesity/weight management training should be introduced into medical school syllabuses to ensure GPs and other healthcare practitioners feel able and comfortable to raise and discuss a person’s weight, without any stigma or discrimination.

3. The Government should implement a 9pm watershed on advertising of food and drinks high in fat, sugar and salt to protect children during family viewing time.

4. The Government should lead or support efforts by the clinical community to investigate whether obesity should be classified as a disease in the UK, and what this would mean for the NHS and other services.

5. The Government should commission or support the development of a thorough, peer-reviewed cost benefit analysis of earlier intervention and treatment of people with obesity.