15 Jan 2024 Time to prioritise public health in 2024
It has been a tumultuous time for UK health in the wake of the pandemic and continuing strikes within the NHS. As the new year kicks off with National Obesity Awareness Week 10-16th January, BANT asks what has happened to the government’s obesity strategy? And when will we get meaningful policy on ultra-processed foods to help tackle the worsening obesity epidemic?
We need to get the basics right if we are to change the obesity trajectory and make meaningful improvements to metabolic health. This entails making healthy whole foods available and accessible to all by working with the food industry, and simultaneously increasing nutrition coverage within the NHS.
BANT hopes that 2024 will mark a transition in public health policy.
Author: Claire Sambolino MSc, BANT Communications Manager & Registered Nutritional Therapy Practitioner rCNHC
FIND US ON POLITICS HOME
This article was published to Politics Home (PoliticsHome is an indispensable information source for the most influential people in UK politics – including Cabinet ministers, MPs, peers, senior civil servants and Westminster journalists)
View the BANT portal here.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
BANT is the leading professional body for Registered Nutritional Therapy Practitioners in one-to-one clinical practice and a self-regulator for BANT Registered Nutritionists®. BANT members combine a network approach to complex systems, incorporating the latest science from genetic, epigenetic, diet and nutrition research to inform individualised recommendations. BANT oversees the activities, training and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) of its members.
Registered Nutritional Therapists are regulated by the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) that holds an Accredited Voluntary Register (AVR) for the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA). A report by the Royal Society for Public Health and the Professional Standards Agency made a key recommendation that AVR practitioners have the authority to make direct NHS referrals, in appropriate cases, to ease the administrative burden on GP surgeries. BANT nutrition practitioners are the key workforce asset to harness 21st century lifestyle medicine to tackle the rising tide of stress-related fatigue, obesity, Type 2 Diabetes, dementia and other chronic diseases.
To find a BANT nutrition practitioner, please click here
BANT WELLBEING GUIDELINES:
The BANT Wellbeing Guidelines are specifically designed to provide clear, easy to understand general information for healthy diet and lifestyle when personalised advice is not available.
Alongside these guidelines, the BANT “Food for your Health” free open-access resources are available to educate and guide the public towards healthier food choices in prevention for diet-induced disease. Download a wide range of food and lifestyle guides, recipes, infographics, planning tools and fact sheets and start making healthy choices today.
