Nesta has built a toolkit that evaluates the impact and cost of obesity-reduction initiatives. This means the UK and devolved governments can identify which routes will reduce obesity most effectively by shifting emphasis to prevention and treatment options, and at the lowest cost to the taxpayer.
The toolkit is the result of a two-year programme of work analysing the most robust academic evidence for over 30 obesity policies. To ensure we used the best evidence and methods, we engaged an expert advisory group of experts in food, health and obesity to help guide us.
This analysis is designed to raise the bar for evidence-based health policy. For the first time, policymakers can use this toolkit to compare solutions with a clear understanding of the most effective routes to pursue and at what scale, based on the strength of the evidence about what works, and how much different solutions would cost to implement.
By implementing the initiatives which deliver the biggest impact for the lowest cost, we have shown that to halve the level of obesity in the population by 2030, the most effective set of actions would require public investment of £3 billion over five years, which – crucially – would then generate benefits worth £30 billion a year to society.
People living with obesity are much more likely to develop a range of chronic health conditions, so this reduction would have significant knock-on effects. It is estimated that 157,000 cases of type 2 diabetes would be avoided over five years – a reduction of around a fifth. Halving obesity would lead to around 95,000 fewer cases of hypertension over five years and 11,500 fewer cases of bowel cancer.
Poor health caused by excess weight is one of the leading causes of death across the UK and rates are highest amongst the most deprived communities. Since the early 1990s, obesity rates have doubled, blighting people’s lives and putting huge pressure on our NHS as well as damaging our economy through lost productivity.
Over the same period, nearly 700 policies and strategies have been published by successive governments aimed at tackling the issue.
Most of them have focused on providing information to people about healthy eating, promoting physical activity or encouraging the food industry to sell healthier food.
None of these have been sufficient to turn the tide on obesity, and our country has become sicker as a result – but it doesn’t have to be that way.
Up until now there has been no way to compare the likely impact and implementation costs of different ways to reduce obesity. The toolkit shows how we can reduce obesity to improve the nation’s health and start to tackle health inequalities.
Now policymakers can use the blueprint toolkit to design solutions with a clear understanding of the most effective routes to pursue.
Explore effective policies
On the homepage you’ll find a list of policies. This can be used to compare the estimated impact on obesity prevalence, government costs, and the quality of evidence for each policy.
Engage with the evidence
Each policy page presents the case for a policy, its costs and benefits, implementation considerations, and related case studies.
Identify relevance
The toolkit includes a wide range of policies. Filtering options are available to help you locate policies most applicable to your specific areas of focus.
View policy packages
No individual policy listed here will halve obesity. Our policy packages may help you consider how policies can be effective in parallel with one another.
To ensure we used the most robust academic evidence as the foundation for the blueprint toolkit we engaged an expert advisory group to help guide us. The group includes representatives from six universities with expertise in food, health and obesity research and policy. The group members are:
Peymane Adab, University of Birmingham
Mary Brennan, University of Edinburgh
Thomas Burgoine, University of Cambridge
Emilie Combet Aspray, University of Glasgow
Emma Frew, University of Birmingham
Gareth Hollands, University College London
Lindsay Jaacks, University of Edinburgh
Susan Jebb, University of Oxford
Kat Jenner, Obesity Health Alliance
Laura Johnson, Independent advisor
Clare Llewellyn, University College London
Theresa Marteau, University of Cambridge
Rachel Pechey, University of Oxford
Jessica Renzella, University of Oxford
Sumantra Ray, NNEdPro Global Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health (University of Cambridge)
Simon Russell, University College London
Nesta is the UK’s innovation agency for social good. We design, test and scale solutions to society’s biggest problems. Our three missions are to help people live healthy lives, give every child a fair start and create a sustainable future where the economy works for both people and the planet.
Everyone deserves to live a long and healthy life, no matter where they live or their life circumstances. But right now, some people are dying years earlier than they should. In many cases this is because they are living with obesity, a condition that cuts lives short by increasing the risk of disease and other health problems. The main cause of obesity is unhealthy food and drink.
Nesta is working with partners across the public, private and non-profit sector to design, test and scale innovative solutions to reducing obesity. If you have questions or comments about this tool or applying the blueprint approach to your own work please get in touch at ahealthylife@nesta.org.uk