Public Health England has launched a new crackdown on obesity, with the latest campaign focused on reducing calorie intake.
PHE said this comes amid new evidence showing both children and adults are consuming hundreds of excess calories daily.
The campaign encourages adults to consume 400 calories at breakfast, and 600 for lunch and dinner, and also ‘challenges’ the food industry ‘to reduce calories in products consumed by families by 20% by 2024’.
According to PHE, obese boys and girls consume up to 500 and 290 calories too many each day respectively, while adults consume 200-300 calories in excess each day.
PHE wants food manufacturers and retailers to change the recipe of products, reduce portion size and encourage consumers to purchase lower calorie products.
The NHS spends around £6bn a year treating obesity-related conditions.
But PHE said that if the 20% target is met within five years, more than 35,000 premature deaths could be prevented and around £9bn in NHS healthcare and social care costs could be saved over a 25-year period.
