‘Recipe for health: a plan to fix our broken food system’ – key insights from House of Lords report.
The House of Lords has launched a ground-breaking report, “Recipe for Health: A Plan to Fix Our Broken Food System,” addressing the public health emergency of obesity and diet-related disease. A critical question emerges: could the widespread consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) be a driving force behind this crisis?
Obesity and Diet-Related Disease: A Growing Crisis
England ranks among the highest in obesity rates and diet-related diseases compared to other high-income nations. Unhealthy diets dominated by ultra-processed foods (UPF) are primary contributors. Shockingly, after tobacco, diet-related risks are now the leading cause of years of life lost in the UK.
Professor Janet Cade, founder and director of myfood24, provided crucial evidence to the House of Lords Food, Diet, and Obesity Committee, emphasizing the urgent need to for better research and data into ultra-processed foods and their role in poor health outcomes. The report was published recently.
Key Recommendations from the House of Lords Report
To combat the escalating health crisis, the Committee has proposed the following measures:
- Health Reporting: Require large businesses to report on the healthiness of their food sales.
- Salt and Sugar Tax: Introduce a reformulation tax on salt and sugar to encourage healthier food production.
- Advertising Restrictions: Ban advertising of unhealthy foods across all media platforms.
- UPF Research: Commission more research into the health impacts of ultra-processed foods.
- Maternal and Infant Nutrition: Enhance support for maternal and infant nutrition to address childhood obesity.
- Access to Healthy Food: Expand eligibility for Healthy Start vouchers and free school meals to more families.
The Role of Ultra-Processed Foods (UPF)
Professor Janet Cade highlighted significant gaps in existing research:
“Existing research into ultra-processed foods and poor health has relied on food composition tables not designed to study these associations. While high-fat, salt, and sugar (HFSS) items partially overlap with ultra-processed foods, the connection is far from complete.”
Professor Cade also stressed the importance of collaboration with the food industry to drive meaningful change:
“We must work together with industry to develop solutions that promote healthier diets and reduce the burden of diet-related diseases.”
Call to Action
The House of Lords report underscores the urgency of transforming our food system to promote health and reduce the prevalence of obesity and diet-related diseases. By addressing the consumption of ultra-processed foods and implementing these recommendations, the UK can pave the way for a healthier future.
Table 1: Food groups contributing to the categories ultra-processed food only, high in fat, salt and sugar only, both and neither
myfood24
myfood24 is an online research-grade dietary assessment tool with a comprehensive database of UK branded foods. Using this in future research and policy development could help researchers to disentangle what is going on, enabling research see whether it is the nutrient composition of diet, particularly energy density, or something else causing ill health. myfood24 can be used in research health and teaching settings to investigate diet-related disease and health.
The myfood24 UK Branded database contains over 123k branded items with 120 nutrient variables, plus sustainability metrics. Each item is individually mapped to items in the UK Generic database, resulting in a more complete nutritional profile. In early 2025, some of the myfood24 UK databases have new nutrient variables going live, included in these variables are NOVA and HFSS scores. These scores help to build on the nutrient information currently available via food composition tables, potentially assisting future research into UPF and diet-related disease.
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