MPs Warn UK Obesity Plan Is "Doomed to Fail" Without a Rethink
The Health and Social Care select committee, a group of MPs who scrutinise government policy, has concluded that the UK government's promise to reverse rising obesity rates within the next decade is "doomed to fail" unless it undergoes a major rethink and a new plan is led directly by the prime minister. The committee published its findings on 30 October 2026, according to The Guardian.
The target sits in the government's 10 Year Health Plan for England, published in 2025, which says it will "launch a moonshot to end the obesity epidemic." The committee said there are no signs that the plan's "moonshot ambition on obesity" will achieve anything significant. Its chair, Layla Moran, is a Liberal Democrat MP.
Obesity is a medical condition involving excessive body weight that can raise the risk of other illnesses. Official statistics cited by The Guardian show that 30 per cent of adults in England are living with obesity, and 66 per cent are either overweight or living with obesity. The committee estimates that close to a third of children are overweight or living with obesity.
The committee's report calls for a dedicated cabinet committee on the obesity plan, chaired by the prime minister. It also asks ministers to come to Parliament within the next three months to set out a joined-up, cross-government action plan on obesity. The committee said the government will fail to tackle the issue unless action is led from the top and the moonshot becomes a clear, personal priority for the prime minister.
The Grocer, a trade publication covering the food sector, reported that Andy Burnham was urged to rescue the strategy following the committee's report. It described the report as a cross-party assessment of the moonshot.
The inquiry behind the report was launched in July 2025 under the title Food and Weight Management. It was set up to examine how people gain access to nutritious food and to weight-management medications. The 10 Year Health Plan also includes restrictions on junk food advertising aimed at children, a measure the government set out in the same document.
