Sixteen months ago, when the Government first published its plans to reform the Welfare Foods Scheme, the issue of child obesity did not attract much media attention. One year on, media obsession with the issue has created a sense of urgency. The Government is under pressure to "do something".
There was barely a mention of childhood obesity in the original consultation paper. It noted that infants whose mothers are obese have a greater risk of heart disease and that nutritional intervention early in life is most effective. But the main focus of the consultation reflected concern about underweight babies.
In particular, the consultation highlighted the importance of a healthy diet in reducing low birth weight, which is strongly linked to infant deaths. The evidence that babies born to poorer parents have a lower weight at birth offers the clearest indication that poverty kills.
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