Updates from the team behind 'Healthy Place, Healthy Weight'

In our last update we explained why we’re changing the focus of this mission to concentrate on healthy places.

The new aim of the mission is that by 2025, all London’s families will find it easier to eat healthy food and be active where they live, learn, shop, work and play.

Central to this mission is an understanding that, for London’s families and children to be supported to grow up a healthy weight, we must make changes to their environment. We want to deliver place-based activities that support everyone by creating a healthy environment.

We have a number of priority projects coming up, including:

• the water-only schools initiative, which encourages schools to make water and low-fat milk the only drinks available to pupils
• healthier food advertising policies, expanding the existing ban on advertising junk food on the Transport for London network
• expanding the School Superzones programme to more areas in London – read a PDF report on the School Superzones programme
• supporting infant nutrition and breastfeeding.

Keep an eye out for our emails with updates from this mission.

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In response to evidence about where we can make the biggest impact on Londoners’ lives, we’re changing the focus of this mission.

Mission background

Healthy Food, Healthy Weight was one of nine missions supporting London’s longer-term recovery from COVID-19. Our ambition was that by 2025, every Londoner will live in a healthy food neighbourhood, with access to healthy, culturally appropriate food, in an environment that supports them to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Focus on healthy places

With such a big ambition, we had to consider what actions would make the biggest differences to Londoners.

Emerging evidence has shown a clear link between being above a healthy weight and becoming seriously ill from COVID-19.

Other missions are addressing food insecurity. So it feels right that this mission should focus on the wider issues that can make it difficult for people to be a healthy weight.

Consultation about the mission’s priorities

We decided to talk about this to our partners, including local councils and the NHS. We wanted to understand how the mission can support what is already happening across London, including the other recovery missions.

In August 2021, we asked stakeholders about the mission’s focus. We invited them to review and prioritise the kinds of projects the mission would work on.

A wide range of professionals across the capital took part in the consultation. They included members of London’s Child Obesity Taskforce, the London Food Board and London Obesity Leads network.

Support for the new focus on healthy weight

The consultation showed strong support for the mission to focus on:

• making the places where people live healthier
• making it easier for people to eat healthy food and become more active.

It's here that stakeholders feel the mission can have the most impact.

Our new ambition is that by 2025, all London’s families will find it easier to eat healthy food and be active where they live, learn, shop, work and play.

We’ve formed a steering group to support the mission’s development with expert advice and insight. It includes experts from:

• London Councils
• the NHS
• the Association of Directors of Public Health
• the GLA
• the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (previously Public Health England)
• Impact on Urban Health
• London’s Child Obesity Taskforce
• Bite Back 2030.

Next steps

We shared the rescoped mission proposal with the London Recovery Board on 1 December 2021. The refresh includes a new mission name and ambition.

The board agreed our plans. Read the London Recovery Board meeting papers.

In our next update, we’ll share details of the key projects we aim to deliver.

These projects will focus on making local environments healthier for London’s families.

Keep an eye out for our emails with updates from this mission.

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Our goal for this mission is by 2025 every Londoner lives in a healthy food neighbourhood. 

We want a healthy food neighbourhood to do a number of things to support Londoners as part of the city’s recovery from COVID-19. The first is to address how difficult it is for Londoners to achieve a healthy weight. Before the pandemic 63% of adults in England were living above a healthy weight and unhealthy weight among 10–11 year olds was higher in the capital than in any other region of England. Evidence shows that being above a healthy weight can lead to a range of health problems and chronic conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, some cancers and worse symptoms following infection from COVID-19. Risk of higher weight and associated chronic diseases is especially high amongst those aged between 55 and 74 years, those living in deprivation and some Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups. 

The second challenge this mission must address is rising food insecurity. Being food insecure means, you are not able to access enough quality food to allow you to stay healthy. The pandemic has meant that many more Londoners are struggling to access a healthy nutritious diet for a range of reasons, including worsening financial situations. Our city is home to some of the poorest neighbourhoods in the country with almost two in five Londoners living in poverty prior to the pandemic. A healthy food neighbourhood seeks to ensure that everyone living there can access food that is not only healthy but sustainable and culturally appropriate to their individual needs. 

This mission aims to create an environment that supports all Londoners to access healthy food that supports their health and weight regardless of their age or background. It will do this by working closely with partners across the city to create action against the seven pillars of a healthy food neighbourhood, which are: 

• Healthy Food Highstreets   
• Healthy Food Environments  
• Healthy Food Communities  
• Healthy Food Access  
• Healthy Food Retail  
• Healthy Food Schools  
• Developing capacity and sustainability  

We have met with members of the London Food Board and London’s Child Obesity Taskforce to share our early thinking around the healthy food neighbourhood concept and to draw on their expertise.  

Over the next few months, we will continue to talk to partners as we develop our plans for achieving the missions’ goals over the next five years.