Politics · United Kingdom · 2 hrs ago
Campaigners urge UK to tackle hunger and obesity together
A World Obesity Federation co-chair urged the UK government to tackle hunger and obesity together.
The letter says the same food system and households can face both problems, but government handles them separately.
MPs have called for obesity prevention and treatment, while the Right to Food UK Commission has called for a legal duty to ensure access to food.
The writer says that duty should cover both enough food and food that nourishes.
The proposal includes measurable targets, an independent commission reporting to parliament each year, and rules to keep food manufacturers and retailers out of policymaking.
A shared approach could make government accountable for what people eat, the writer argues.
Ministers are due to return before MPs with a plan within three months.
Campaigners are urging the UK government to treat hunger and obesity as linked problems.
Prof Kent Buse says the same food system and households are affected by both.
He calls for a statutory right to adequate food, with measurable targets and shared government accountability.
The proposal includes an independent commission reporting annually to parliament and rules to keep food businesses out of policymaking.
Ministers are due to return to MPs with a plan within three months.
- Who
- Prof Kent Buse, co-chair of the World Obesity Federation’s Policy and Prevention Committee, is calling for action.
- What
- He urges the government to address hunger and obesity together through a statutory right to adequate food and shared accountability.
- When
- The letter was published on 8 November 2026.
- Where
- The United Kingdom.
- Why
- Buse says the same food system and households are linked to both problems, while government handles them separately.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Mr Burnham praised the Right To Food campaign at prime minister’s questions.
A report warned that the UK government’s obesity plan was “doomed to fail”, according to the letter.
The Guardian published Prof Kent Buse’s letter urging the government to address hunger and obesity together.
Ministers are due back before MPs with a plan.
- Proposed duty
- A statutory right to adequate food
- Accountability
- An independent commission reporting annually to parliament
- Policy safeguards
- Conflict-of-interest rules to keep manufacturers and retailers out of the policy process
- Ministerial deadline
- Within three months
What people are saying
The same food system, and the same households, produce both hunger and obesity.
Whitehall treats them as two problems, with two sets of ministers and no shared accountability, and so neither is solved.
Combining the two reports would give that plan something it currently lacks: a structure that holds government to account for what people eat.