Southwark Council takes stand against obesity by signing Sugar Reduction Declaration

14 November 2018

Southwark Council has marked Sugar Awareness Week by signing the Local Government Declaration on Healthier Food and Sugar Reduction.

In signing the declaration Southwark Council has committed to taking at least six different actions across a number of key areas including, looking at corporate advertising and sponsorship, supporting local businesses and organisations to improve their food offer and delivering healthy public events.

Another key part of the declaration is raising public awareness of the health harms associated with over consumption of sugary drinks. Southwark Council has already led a campaign challenging residents to give up fizzy drinks for the entire month of February. Fizz Free February is an annual campaign that offers residents a simple first step to healthy eating by helping to increase awareness of the health harms associated with excess sugar as well as promoting the benefits of cutting it out of your diet all together.

Southwark Council has also begun working with local businesses and organisations to encourage them to become part of the Breastfeeding Welcome network. Establishing good health starts at an early age and the scheme provides businesses with a number of ways to help mothers feel more comfortable breastfeeding in their premises.

By signing the pledge the council has agreed to an audit of corporate partnerships, sponsorship, marketing and advertising to determine opportunities to promote healthy eating and implement a new council policy on healthier sponsorship and advertising.

The council also remains committed to continued restrictions on the proliferation of hot food takeaways through 400m exclusion zones around secondary schools. This policy has successfully limited the addition of new businesses contributing to the obesogenic environment.

Cllr Evelyn Akoto, cabinet member for community safety and public health said: “As a council we have ambitious plans for tackling obesity and signing this pledge offers an important opportunity for the council to demonstrate its strong commitment to reduce sugar consumption. We are seeing positive movements in our childhood obesity figures, however we know there is a long way still to go when it comes to improving the borough’s health. Signing the Local Government Declaration on Sugar Reduction gives a visible indication of the whole-systems approach that exemplifies the cross departmental work that is at the heart of the public health work we do here in Southwark.”

Page last updated: 14 November 2018