Council to go sugar-free after signing healthy food pledgepublished at 16:56 British Summer Time 20 September 2018
Local Democracy Reporting Service
Hackney Council is now signed up to a declaration to reduce sugar and promote healthier eating, in one of the first pledges of its kind by a local authority in the country.
The declaration, drafted by Sustain, an alliance of over 100 public sector organisations, will tackle advertising and sponsorship of unhealthy food which can contribute to obesity, particularly in children.
The Town Hall will also be removing sugar from Hackney Council’s office kitchens, in what could come as unsettling news for employees with a sweet tooth.
With the declaration, sponsorship from fizzy drinks companies will not be accepted by the Town Hall for events targeting children, and the council is to start exploring opportunities to restrict commercial advertising of sugar-sweetened beverages within the borough.
Deputy Mayor Cllr Feryal Demirci, said: “The report recommends that Hackney signs up to the local authority declaration on sugar reduction and healthier food.
“The declaration supports the council’s strategic objectives relating to obesity and health inequalities as outlined in Hackney’s joint health and wellbeing strategy, and the sustainable community strategy.
“The majority of the work set out in this declaration is already being delivered within Hackney, but by signing this declaration, it brings deserved visibility, so that everyone is aware we are doing this work.”
Hackney Council is one of the first local authorities in the country to sign up.
Just over a quarter of 10 to 11-year-olds in the borough are obese, compared to a 23.2% London average.
Over 40% have “excess weight”, compared to 38.1% in London.
Nearly 90,000 adults in Hackney are either overweight or obese.