NHS cuts in London obesity fight ‘a disaster’

Health officials tackling London's obesity crisis will have their funding cut by nearly 10 per cent, it emerged today.

NHS London is slashing the money available to its public health team, according to its latest budget, at a time when the capital faces soaring rates of childhood obesity and tuberculosis.

More than one in 10 children in London are obese, the highest figure in England, and 19th-century killer TB has returned with a vengeance, particularly in the East End. Experts today condemned the cut as a "disaster" and "short-sighted", saying public health schemes to educate people about good diets, drugs misuse and how to avoid infectious diseases are key to preventing the capital's health deteriorating further.

Professor Alan Maryon-Davis, president of the UK Faculty of Public Health, said: "Public health is often seen as a soft target by the axe men, but it's incredibly short-sighted as in the long-run and short-run prevention can save money; it's a good investment."

Tam Fry, trustee of the National Obesity Forum, said: "London has the worst levels of childhood obesity in the country and any downsizing of public health teams dealing with that is a retrograde step. It's a disaster."

NHS services across the country face heavy cuts.

Campaign group Health Emergency says Londoners face cutbacks of £5 billion over the next three years. At £673 per head, the capital is set to experience the heaviest health cuts in Britain.