The government’s plans to tackle health issues arising from a poor diet continue apace with a consultation on plans to restrict promotions of food and drink products high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) by location and by price.

The consultation, which runs until April 6, proposes:

• Restricting volume-based price promotions of HFSS food and drink that encourage people to buy more than they need, e.g. ‘buy one, get one free’ and free refills of sugary soft drinks
• Restricting the placement of HFSS food and drink at main selling locations in stores, such as checkouts, aisle ends and store entrances.

This consultation also asks:

• Which businesses, products and types of promotions should be included in the restrictions
• Definitions for HFSS products, price promotions and locations in stores
• How businesses can put this into practice and whether they will face any difficulties.

The proposed plans were set out in Childhood obesity: a plan for action, chapter 2. The aim is to reduce excessive eating and drinking of HFSS products that can lead to children becoming overweight and obese.

Nearly one in four children in England are obese or overweight by the time they start primary school, and this rises to one in three by the time they leave primary school.