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The government's groundbreaking strategy supports the creation of a healthy society - from early years, to schools and food, from sport and physical activity to planning, transport and the health service.

It will bring together employers, individuals and communities to promote children's health and healthy food; build physical activity into our lives; support health at work; and provide incentives more widely to promote health. It will also provide effective treatment and support when people become overweight or obese.

Alan Johnson said: "Tackling obesity is the most significant public and personal health challenge facing our society. The core of the problem is simple - we eat too much and we do too little exercise. The solution is more complex. From the nature of the food that we eat, to the built environment, through to the way our children lead their lives - it is harder to avoid obesity in the modern environment.

"It is not the Government's role to hector or lecture people, but we do have a duty to support them in leading healthier lifestyles. This will only succeed if the problem is recognised, owned and addressed in every part of society."

In England alone, nearly a quarter of men and women are now obese. The trends for children are even more cause for concern, with 18 per cent of 2 to 15 year olds currently obese and a further 14 per cent overweight.

The Foresight report on obesity, published last year, indicated that nearly 60 per cent of the UK population could be obese by 2050.

The proposals in detail

The five key elements of the strategy are:

Healthy growth and development of children

• early identification of at risk families and plans to make breastfeeding the default option for mothers
• investment in healthy schools, increasing participation in physical activity, and making cooking a compulsory part of the national curriculum
• a £75 million marketing campaign to support and empower parents to make changes to their children's diet and increase levels of physical activity

Promoting healthier food choices

• setting out a Healthy Food Code of Good Practice to be finalised in partnership with the food and drink industry
  
• OFCOM to bring forward its review of the restrictions already introduced on the advertising of unhealthy foods to children
  
• promote Local Authority planning powers to limit the spread of fast food outlets in particular areas such as close to schools or parks

Building physical activity into our lives

• investment of £30 million in 'Healthy Towns' - working with selected towns and cities to bring together the successful EPODE (Ensemble Prevenons Lobesite Des Enfants) model used in Europe, using infrastructure and whole town approaches to promoting physical activity
  
• set up a working group with the entertainment technology industry to ensure that they continue to develop tools to allow parents to manage the time that their children spend watching TV or playing sedentary games, online and much more widely
  
• review the overall approach to physical activity, including the role of Sport England, with the aim of producing a fresh set of programmes to ensure that there is a clear legacy of increased physical activity before and after the 2012 Games

Creating incentives for better health

• stronger incentives for individuals, employers and the NHS to prioritise the long-term work of improving health
  
• working with employers and employer organisations to explore how companies can best promote good health among their staff and make healthy workplaces part of their core business model
  
• piloting and evaluating a range of different approaches to using personal financial incentives to encourage healthy living

Personalised advice and support

• developing the NHS Choices website so that it provides advice for diet and activity levels, with clear and consistent information on how to maintain a healthy weight
  
• increased funding over the next three years to support the commissioning of more weight management services, where people can access personalised services to support them in achieving real and sustained weight loss

Further information

• Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives: a Cross-Government Strategy for England Opens new window