has requested that David Cameron's government introduce a "sugar tax" to discourage consumption of sweetened soft drinks.Action on Sugar said it has developed a seven-point plan to reduce childhood obesity following a request for its views from the UK health secretary, Jeremy Hunt.
The measures include bringing in a sugar tax, limiting the availability of ultra-processed foods and sweetened soft drinks, and banning "junk food sports sponsorships".
The group's chairman, Professor Graham MacGregor, said: "Obesity in children leads to the premature development of cardiovascular disease, stroke, heart attacks and heart failure, which are the commonest cause of death and disability in the UK.
"Obesity predisposes to type 2 diabetes, which further increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and also, importantly, it can lead to severe complications, i.e. the commonest cause of blindness, renal dialysis and amputation of the lower limbs. These complications are extremely expensive to manage, and will cripple the NHS if the increase in obesity and type 2 diabetes is not stopped immediately."
