Mayor Boris Johnson has called time on childhood obesity in the capital. The Mayor is calling on boroughs to join him in adopting a pan London approach to the problem, by promoting physical exercise and healthy eating. The Mayor hopes in the run up to 2012 a strong joint approach will help get fitness levels up and empower challenges to fast food companies and advertisers who deliberately target youngsters with unhealthy and fattening snacks.

The Mayor made his comments today at the launch of his health consultation ‘The London Health Inequalities Strategy’ where he met with leading health professionals.

Key recommendations from the strategy include:

• Economy: Tackling family poverty and unemployment, and promote healthy, productive workplaces
• Improving debt management and benefit entitlement take up
• Sports: Championing sports and physical exercise and activities which build young people’s self confidence, e.g. the scouts and cadets
• Campaigns to encourage Londoners to enjoy parks and green spaces
• Partnership: Working with boroughs, health agencies and NHS London to ensure equitable access to services and a fair share of resources for London’s health services.
• Promoting volunteering across London
• Empowering individuals to choose healthier lifestyles, providing information and support

Mayor Boris Johnson said: “My perfect 2012 legacy would be a leaner, fitter London and I want us to work swiftly towards the elimination of childhood obesity. I’m calling on all London boroughs to join me in a pan London approach to fighting obesity and I want to see senior staff tasked with delivering health improvements. Together we need to work on improving access to simple sports like football, swimming, and cycling that provide great physical exercise. We also need to provide vulnerable families with dietary advice and access to affordable healthier food.

“A joint approach will give us greater leverage in addressing the often callous ways our youngsters are targeted by some fast food companies. It is unacceptable with the world’s greatest sporting event in our midst our kids are still being lured into consuming excessive sweets and junk instead of balanced meals and healthy snacks. ”

The health consultation underlines the need to tackle the wider effects that the economy and job losses are having on communities. Housing provision is another key factor in the battle against health inequalities and as such is a major part of the Mayor’s London Plan. The health consultation also highlights how local authorities, health agencies and the Mayor’s office are working together to improve the health of every Londoner.

Pamela Chesters, the Mayor’s Health and Youth Opportunities adviser, said: “The huge disparity in health outcomes for Londoners is unacceptable. For example average life expectancy for men in Kensington and Chelsea is 84 years, whereas in Greenwich it is only 75. We are committed to tackling the underlying causes which contribute to this with real energy and will ensure as we go forward that reducing health inequality is a factor underpinning all the Mayor’s strategies.”