According to BBC, the public health cuts which have been recommended might hamper the anti-obesity effort which was taken in 2013. Due to Brexit, local councils are pretty worried that the government of England will make cuts to public health funding. That can drastically reduce and hamper efforts to reduce the growing amounts of obesity which have taken place over the years.
What is the LGA?
Medical research has shown that one out of eight men in Britain is obese. It is worse among women and children, which brought out several changes by the local government association which wanted to do something about the epidemic. Figures show that they would have spent less than £505m in another two years time fighting obesity.
The council makes use of the money to measure the weight of children at primary schools and enables people lose weight. They also provide cheap leisure facilities. The public health was taken over by the local authorities in April 2013. Previously it was carried and performed by the NHS.
The Department of Health said it was concerned about reducing obesity by announcing a sugar tax on soft drinks manufacturers. The Local Government Association (LGA) gets money from the government. The total can be around £3.38bn in 2016/17 to £3.13bn in 2020/21. LGA represents more than 300 councils which are part of England and Wales.
The years and their expenses are as follows:
- 2013/14 – £112m
- 2014/15 – £126m
- 2015/16 – £140m
- 2016/17 – £127m
Any difference noticed?
The LGA has mentioned that the councils are performing their tasks sincerely in their areas and it was showing in the results. Obesity has reduced to a certain extend. The cost also include calculating a child’s BMI (body mass index) which is part of the running the government’s National Child Measurement Programme.
The in charge of community wellbeing for the LGA, Izzi Seccombe, said they are best for tackling obesity before it becomes a major health issue. “We want assurances from the new administration of the government that the childhood obesity strategy which is a long awaited plan is on track and includes tough measures which were planned to enable the decrease in kids becoming obese.”
He also added that, “Today’s children who are obese will be tomorrow’s adults who are obese and it will cause increase in costs and major health conditions.”
