NCB Now Comment: Engage children to encourage healthy living

In addition to well-documented health problems, it has been linked to child poverty, bullying, low self-esteem and poor educational outcomes, and presents costly challenges for services as they try to address health inequalities. It is imperative to engage directly with children and young people to develop their skills to initiate and sustain healthy lifestyle changes, and enable them to feel the benefits for themselves.

Recent guidance produced by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) recommends that people could avoid significant health issues simply by increasing the number of healthier food products and access to them. Ensuring low salt products and low saturated fat foods are sold more cheaply than their higher content equivalents and extending restrictions on TV advertising for unhealthy food are among the list of recommendations outlined by Nice.