British government’s new anti-obesity campaign gets underway

London, UK, January 2: To tackle Britain’s soaring obesity rates, the government is officially launching an anti-obesity campaign, reveals the report by Department of Health.

Beginning tomorrow, the marketing campaign named Change4Life aims to spearhead a message promoting the benefits of a healthy lifestyle.

Television and press have agreed to support the government in its effort and make the new health campaign a success. They are more likely to be joined in by broadcasters, charities, the Fitness Industry Association and manufacturers of food products who will run their respective campaigns throughout the year.

Some of the well-known company giants including Nestle, Mars and Coca-Cola will promote the campaign through their adverts from Saturday.

According to the DoH, the idea aims to “kickstart a lifestyle revolution for every family” by popularizing the message of healthy eating and exercise.

The campaign’s themes will be communicated to the people through different ads appealing people to visit “Change4Life” website for related information. Additionally, a helpline will be made available to the people where they can call or seek advice on healthy eating and fitness regime.

Some of the MNCs joining the anti-obesity campaign include Unilever, Kellogg’s, Kraft, Cadbury, and PepsiCo while major supermarkets like Tesco, Asda, The Co-operative Group and the British Heart Foundation also form part of the healthy living campaign.
To support the Change4Life campaign, Unilever will sponsor the London marathon while PepsiCo UK has plans to launch an advertising campaign with some of the well-known sportspersons joining in to promote the benefits of staying fit.

The message from the Change 4 Life initiative is clear. “Fat is not your friend,” warns the Change4Life push. The initiative aims to caution the families of the harm obesity can cause to their kids’ health. A bad diet can be an invitation to diseases like cancerdefine, diabetes and heart ailments.

If the trend of obesity continues unabated, it will result in 90 percent of today’s children becoming obese by 2050 which will cost the nation £50 billion.

Expressing his concern over soaring obesity, public health minister, Dawn Primarolo, said: “Change4Life has a critical ambition. We are trying to create a lifestyle revolution on a huge scale - something which no Government has attempted before.

“We have adopted ideas from successful movements such as Make Poverty History and Comic Relief which involves a wide range of partners, local organisations, commercial companies, charities and, of course, millions of people.

“Change4Life is supportive, informative and reassuring - it's not about telling families what to do and what to eat.”

Reiterating the benefits of Change4Life, chief medical officer, Sir Liam Donaldson, stated: “There are two key things we can do to be healthier - eat healthier food and be more active. Being active and eating well does not have to be expensive and it doesn't have to be difficult.

“We need to engage with parents and support families to change their lifestyles for the better. Change4Life provides that support.”

A spokesman for Business4Life, an industry consortium which was announced in November last year, said: “The private sector's vast expertise in advertising, marketing and media can be used to complement and amplify Government's objectives and messages, many of which are often shared with industry.

“Through our partnership with the Department of Health, Business4Life members will deliver campaign messages to millions of consumers, many of whom are the most difficult to influence through conventional marketing but are most in need of adopting healthier lifestyles.”