Prue Leith says the state must ‘sometimes’ step in to tackle child obesity

The ‘Great British Bake Off’ judge called on politicians to make a ‘really massive effort’ to deal with the issue

Prue Leith has said that the state “sometimes” needs to step in to deal with child obesity, after a report claimed that every UK government in the last 30 years has feared being labelled a “nanny state”.

The Great British Bake Off judge said politicians must make a “really massive effort” to address issues that contribute to obesity and give people practical lessons and skills.

Speaking at a hearing of The Times Health Commission, she said: “Sometimes the state has to be a nanny. We don’t mind the fact that the nanny state insists we go to school to learn maths.

“So the nanny state who has to pay enormous sums of money to rectify the problem of obesity has every right to want the nation to learn to like good food and to learn about nutrition.”

The Times Health Commission is a year-long inquiry set up to consider the future of health and social care in England.

Leith continued at the hearing: “The long and short of getting people to eat healthy food is that if they don’t like it, they won’t do it. Even if they do it for a week they won’t do it for longer. So the only way to tackle it, I think is to get them to like it.”

The South African chef cited cooking lessons as an effective way of helping people to learn how to eat healthier.

“I think government after government have played around with this at the edges, there has been a little bit of enthusiasm and then it’s dropped again. It just has to be a really massive effort,” she added.

Leith also believed there not “any point in lecturing everybody” about nutrition and said: “The poorest person in the country knows that vegetables are better for them than chocolate bars. But the knowledge isn’t enough.

“So people who just say, ‘education, education’, yes, education is important. But the main thing is physical. Getting to like it,” she said.

Prue Leith in 2022 (Getty Images)

Leith’s comments come after the Institute for Government (IfG) published a report in April that claimed “fear of ‘nanny statism’” has resulted in politicians being “afraid of interfering in people’s choices, especially their diets”.

Dr Dolly Theis, an expert in obesity policy at the University of Cambridge, told the Guardian: “Some governments have done much more than others. But the IfG is right that a general desire to avoid accusations of nanny statism, a lack of understanding about the issue, and a lack of political prioritisation have all contributed to this chronic policy failure.”

This week, the government said in a new report that the link between the “higher consumption of ultra-processed foods and adverse health outcomes are concerning”, but did not recommend that a new labelling system be put in place to inform consumers of the risks.

The report stopped short in spite of MPs suggesting in parliament that health warnings should be considered on packaging for “highly addictive” ultra-processed foods.

In a previous statement, the Department for Health and Social Care said: “We are taking firm action to help people live healthier lives, including introducing restrictions on where unhealthy food is placed in supermarkets, calorie labelling on menus, and we work closely with industry to make it easier for people to make healthy food choices.

“Trials of new obesity treatments and technologies are being backed by £20m of government funding, and we will introduce restrictions banning adverts on TV for foods and drinks high in fat, salt or sugar before 9pm, as well as paid-for adverts online.”