The urgent need to support British families in eating healthily was underscored earlier this year by the World Obesity Atlas 2026, revealing that the UK has about twice the number of overweight and obese children as France and Italy, totaling 3.8 million children with a high BMI.
In response, Tesco organized a roundtable with health charities, nutritionists, and food suppliers to explore how to aid families. Tamara Rajah, Tesco’s group managing director of healthcare, noted that the company has increased fiber in its products and removed sugar without substituting sweeteners, achieving 65% of food sales classified as healthy by year-end 2022, up from 58% in 2019.
The obesity crisis is alarming, with organizations warning that obesity is becoming a norm and affecting future generations. Colette Marshall of Diabetes UK noted children as young as seven developing type 2 diabetes, while Rhiannon Lambert highlighted the high cost of healthy eating, making it twice as expensive to eat well. John Maingay of the British Heart Foundation observed a rise in weight-related cardiovascular diseases, affecting both health and economy.
Dietitian Lucy Upton emphasized families’ desire for healthy meals but noted confusion stemming from unhealthy marketing and labeling. Jess Mackenzie from the Kids’ Food & Drink Collective pointed out the lack of coherent guidelines for older children and the misleading nature of ultraprocessed foods marketed as healthy.
Consultant Louis Bedwell called for nutritious foods to be made appealing, while Georgina Pattison argued for structural changes in how food is categorized in stores. Elaine Hindal from the British Nutrition Foundation stressed the need for a clear government mission on nutrition.
As Tesco’s UK CEO Ashwin Prasad suggested, making healthy eating accessible and appealing is ongoing work. Tesco has introduced initiatives like matching prices for healthy items and providing free fruits and vegetables to schools, aiming to protect future generations through collaboration.
Throughout the discussion, participants acknowledged the need for government guidelines to clarify healthy choices and regulate marketing of unhealthy foods. Dr. Ravi Gurumurthy highlighted effective prevention measures and suggested that small, sustained dietary changes could significantly reduce obesity rates by 2030.
The consensus among participants was that prioritizing policy and collaboration could lead to meaningful improvements in public health and encourage families to adopt healthier eating habits.
