Cross-party group launched to drive action on dietary health

A new All-Party Parliamentary Group on Dietary Health has been launched to strengthen cross-party action on improving diets, preventing food-related ill health and reducing health inequalities across the UK.

Launched on 20 May at Portcullis House, the APPG will provide a dedicated parliamentary forum for discussion and action on policies that support healthier food environments. Co-chaired by Marie Goldman MP and Jim Dickson MP, the group will focus on the health impacts of the commercial food system and the role of population-level interventions in preventing dietary-related illness effectively and equitably.

The launch brought together more than 30 MPs and Peers, including the Minister for Public Health and Prevention, Sharon Hodgson MP, alongside charities, campaigners, academics and public health stakeholders.

The establishment of the APPG comes at a timely moment, with national commitments to prevention and tackling obesity set out through the Government’s NHS 10 Year Plan. The group provides an important opportunity to maintain parliamentary focus on dietary health and help ensure that policy ambitions translate into meaningful action to improve health outcomes.

Nutritionists from HEG attended the launch and welcomed the creation of the APPG, recognising its potential to place dietary health, prevention and health inequalities higher on the political agenda. At the event, colleagues had the opportunity to speak with MPs and Peers about our work with local authorities and partners to support whole-system approaches to addressing healthier weight.

This included discussion of the Healthy Weight Declaration and the School’s Pledge for a Healthy and Active Future, as well as the role parliamentarians can play in championing healthier food environments within their constituencies. Conversations also covered key policy issues including the cost of living, school food standards, breakfast clubs, junk food marketing legislation and opportunities to strengthen local environments through the Pride and Place programme.

The Food Active programme will continue to support the APPG’s work by sharing local evidence, insight and learning from its North West local authority network. This will help ensure that parliamentary discussions are informed by local experience and focused on practical action to improve diets, reduce preventable illness and tackle health inequalities.

The Obesity Health Alliance will provide the secretariat for the APPG. To protect the group’s work from commercial interference, the APPG and its secretariat will receive no funding from any for-profit entity, and the APPG will not meet directly with for-profit organisations.