Overweight? It's all your own fault, insist the Tories

Health spokesman Andrew Lansley will speak out today as he outlines a raft of measures to tackle spiralling levels of obesity.

Steps will include urging restaurants to serve smaller portions, encouraging people to eat more fruit and vegetables and getting role models, including Britain's Olympic gold medallists, to promote a healthy diet.

Snacking: The Tories are urging healthier eating (file picture)

But his message risked being undermined as he appointed the UK chairman of Unilever - the company behind Findus ready meals and Wall's Ice Cream - to spearhead his healthy-eating drive.

In a speech today drawing battlelines with Labour on public health, Mr Lansley will also unveil plans to curb binge-drinking, drug abuse and casual sex among teenagers.

'Tell people that biology and the environment causes obesity and they are offered the one thing we have to avoid: an excuse,' he will say. 'As it is, people who see more fat people around them may themselves be more likely to gain weight.

'Young people who think many of their friends binge-drink are likely to do so themselves.

'Girls who think their peers engage in early sex are more likely to do so themselves. Peer pressure and social norms are powerful influences on behaviour and they are classic excuses. We have to take away the excuses.'

In his speech to the Reform think-tank, Mr Lansley will condemn Labour for 'nannying' people, and promise that the Tories will not tell them what to do.

'This should not be a licence to lecture people, because they have no excuse not to exercise, or eat their fruit and vegetables,' he will say. 'Nannying - at least among adults - is likely to be counter-productive.

'Providing information is empowering, lecturing people is not. So, no excuses, no nannying.'

His message compares with the softly-softly approach of Health Secretary Alan Johnson, who said last month that 'vilifying' fat people will not make them lose weight.

The Tories are setting up a 'health' task force chaired by Unilever boss Dave Lewis to come up with ideas that could help crack the obesity problem, which is predicted to cost the NHS £60billion a year by 2050.

British adults are the most obese in Europe, with 22.6 per cent of men and women in this category. Ten per cent of children are now classed as obese.

The working group will involve about a dozen experts from the food industry, public health and politics.

Mr Lansley's proposals include replacing the simplistic 'traffic light' system on food in supermarkets, which indicates the levels of salt, sugar and fat in a product.

Instead labels would show the amount of salt, sugar and fat products contain together with figures on the recommended daily intake of these.

Ministers would focus on promoting fruit and vegetables as part of a healthy diet, not just concentrating on a 'fear of junk food'.

Drawing on the success of Team GB in Beijing and ahead of London 2012, Mr Lansley said he would 'promote healthy living, highlighting the benefits from improved diet and increased physical activity'.

The Tories want the stars of the Olympics, such as triple gold winning cyclist Chris Hoy, to inspire young people to eat well, drink less and take more exercise.

Yesterday, Mr Lansley warned that a 'lost generation' of teenagers had become 'health timebombs' as figures showed soaring numbers of 11 to 19-year-olds were needing hospital treatment for alcohol, cigarettes and drugs.

Cases of sexually-transmitted diseases and abortions among schoolgirls have also rocketed under Labour.

Health Minister Ann Keen said: 'Everyone believes that individual responsibility matters, but the Tories are using individual responsibility as an excuse for their lack of effective policies.'