Schools key focus of Wales' obesity prevention plans

The Welsh Government has announced its plans for preventing obesity in Wales, with schools and other education settings a key part of the plan.

Healthy Weight: Healthy Wales Delivery Plan for 2022-24, supported by a £13m investment, will support a range of prevention, early intervention and specialised services that will prevent and reduce obesity, particularly in areas of deprivation.

Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing, Lynne Neagle, announced details of the plan whilst joining children at Ysgol y Graig in Merthyr Tydfil, on the first day of Veg Power’s Eat Them to Defeat Them campaign. Primary schools from across Wales are taking part in the five-week programme which will help them understand the importance of eating healthy foods in a fun way.

Enabling schools and other education settings to be places where physical and mental health are supported as a priority is a key part of the new delivery plan. There is a particular focus on early years and children, with local public health teams in Merthyr, Anglesey and Cardiff given funding to run three pilot Children and Families Programmes. The programmes will work with schools and other local settings to deliver activities that support families to plan, prepare and cook healthier food.

The next two years of Healthy Weight: Healthy Wales will also have a strong emphasis on recovery from the pandemic. Obesity has been a strong risk factor for serious illness, hospitalisation or death from COVID-19. This has brought into sharp focus the reasons why dietary and physical activity behaviours are vital to people’s overall health.

A public consultation will also be launched in the spring which will ask for public opinion on a range of measures which will include looking at price promotions, calorie labelling, planning, and licensing.