Healthy Weight: Healthy Wales delivery plan 2025 to 2027

Levels of obesity in Wales have been rising steadily over many years. This is largely due to the way our food environment has developed to prioritise convenience over health with energy dense foods high in saturated fat or sugar. We grow and prepare far fewer of our meals at home and busy lives have meant that we often choose quick meals that are ready prepared or cooked by others.

The "Eatwell guide" provides an evidence base for eating a healthy diet and supporting a healthy weight. However, the National Diet and Nutrition Survey finds that, on average, the UK population does not meet government recommendations for a balanced and healthy diet. We are also increasingly less active as a nation due to our daily work and travel patterns, and we are the first generation that need to make a conscious decision to build physical activity into our daily lives.

These trends have contributed to more than 60% of adults in Wales and almost a quarter of reception age children living with overweight or obesity. Rates of overweight and obesity tend to be higher in more deprived areas, which also have lower levels of healthy behaviour indicators around physical activity and healthy eating.

A focus on children and young people

Healthy Weight: Healthy Wales is our 10 year strategy to support a healthy weight and is supported by a series of delivery plans. This, the third delivery plan, builds on action taken to date and sets out a series of themes, goals and actions to help focus where we can collectively effect the greatest change. The plan puts supporting children and young people at its heart.

We know from the evidence of what works in other parts of the world that turning the obesity curve at a population level is a mammoth task, which needs widescale change across society and will take a long time to embed. However, we also know that targeting action and resources at the start of life, towards children and young people, through a whole system approach at national and community levels, can elicit real results that last the life course and embed good, healthy habits into adulthood.

While we will maintain work at a population level, including our targeted approaches to addressing health inequalities, seeking to make the healthy choice the easy choice for adults across the places we work, live, shop and undertake recreation, this plan aims to focus on the early years.

The plan has 6 sections, focusing on our priority themes. At the heart of each theme is:

• supporting babies, children and young people
• reducing health inequalities

The themes are:

• embedding a whole system approach
• supporting families and the foundations for lifelong health
• schools and settings that support good health
• creating healthier food environments
• active lives
• treatment pathways

Mental health, nutrition, and physical activity are deeply interconnected in shaping the health and wellbeing of children and young people. The food we eat provides us with the energy and nutrients our brain needs to work well. This in turn affects our emotions and how we think. One of the best things we can do for our mental health and wellbeing is to be active. Our bodies release feel good hormones when we're active that can also reduce anxiety and stress and help us sleep better.

The first years, especially the first 1,000 days, are a crucial time for healthy growth. Eating well and being active early on helps children to:

• feel good
• play
• learn
• grow strong

Our schools and settings play a key role in providing a supportive environment in which children develop positive physical activity and food behaviours, shaping their life-long relationship with food and physical activity. They can help to remove barriers and improve access for children who have less opportunity to participate in after-school activities or to try a range of different foods at home, and in doing so help to reduce inequalities.

Our food environment, the food available to us in our local area and how it is labelled and marketed, plays a central role in what we choose to eat and drink. The popularity of eating out and ordering takeaways has grown in recent years, contributing to higher calorie intake. People in many parts of Wales do not live within easy walking distance of food outlets which sell a wide selection of affordable, healthier food such as fruit and vegetables. Conversely, the number of takeaways in Wales has increased significantly in recent years and there is a link between a high density of takeaways and areas of deprivation. We know that school children can be tempted to snack on takeaway food on their journeys to or from school.

Evidence shows that advertising of less healthy food and drink products influences the eating habits of young people. Almost half (48%) of all food and drink adverts shown on commercial TV channels most watched by children are for high fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) products. Unlike television and digital media advertising, public spaces remain largely unregulated, resulting in continued exposure to unhealthy food advertisements and studies indicate that outdoor advertising of unhealthy foods significantly impacts consumer cravings and diets, akin to online advertising. Children and adults from more deprived backgrounds are disproportionately targeted by HFSS marketing due to higher reliance on public transport and residence in areas with a higher density of outdoor advertisements.

This is a living document and we will build on the actions in each theme, as we further develop our evidence base for effective action and develop a route map for future delivery plans.

The complexity of obesity means there are no simple solutions and no one agency or organisation can solve it alone. Everyone has a role to play. A whole system approach presents an opportunity to address this complexity and is at the front and centre of our delivery plan.

This is:

a dynamic way of working, that brings together partners to develop a shared understanding of the challenge, and integrate action to bring about sustainable, long-term change.

By understanding the levers for change and their interdependencies we can work differently across organisations and settings to reshape our environments in a way that encourages and enables people to access healthier food opportunities and to be more active. Several international case studies have shown promising results in reducing childhood obesity through taking a concerted and sustained whole system approach.

We have been working, nationally and locally, to embed a whole system approach to healthy weight. Regional whole system teams in health boards have engaged extensively with local and national agencies and groups across Wales. Public Health Wales is supporting the regional whole system teams, ensuring consistency of approach and monitoring and evaluating progress. The focus so far has been making the case for collective action and building the importance of healthy weight into the strategic plans of public sector bodies. Each area has also been working with partners to identify priority areas for change, using the latest system tools.

These are:

• access to affordable, healthier food for children, young people, families and communities
• healthier food outlets in the out-of-home sector
• increasing opportunities for spaces for children to run and play
• healthier advertising in our high streets
• safer community spaces creating spaces for active travel

Through our whole system approach, action is enabled across each theme in this delivery plan, in addition to the specific actions set out in them.

The PIPYN and PIPYN Actif Children and Families pilots in Anglesey, Cardiff and Merthyr Tydfil are local early years system interventions, which are focused on local whole system approaches to preventing and reducing obesity in early childhood. They support families to adopt and embed a healthier family food and activity environment within the home and have established strong collaborative networks among early years practitioners, with hundreds of families receiving support.

They were established in response to the number of children starting school who are overweight or obese and are exploring how to support families to achieve a healthy weight without stigma for the child or family. There is a focus on reducing inequalities within the pilot programme.

The 3 areas chosen each have different issues and challenges, which can affect participation, including around culturally appropriate food. PIPYN looks at different approaches to break down barriers and provide more inclusive services and activities. The Anglesey programme is focused on overcoming barriers related to rurality, Cardiff is focused on Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic participation, and Merthyr Tydfil is engaging with communities with high levels of deprivation, as measured by the Welsh Index for Multiple Deprivation.

Our actions

Action 1: we will expand the PIPYN and PIPYN Actif programmes running in Anglesey, Cardiff and Merthyr Tydfil

Following the evaluation of the PIPYN model, we will roll out an updated model across Wales, prioritising areas with the greatest levels of childhood obesity. We will also ensure learning from PIPYN is integrated into wider early years programmes.

Action 2: we will strengthen our governance and reporting structures to enable clear accountability for progress towards our collective outcomes, supported by a new Heathy Weight: Healthy Wales framework of goals and indicators

Further information on the approach is outlined in the governance, accountability and monitoring delivery section of the plan.

Action 3: we will strengthen and embed further whole system approaches at both a community and national level

Over the next 2 years, on a national level we will hold 3 spread and scale events to share and learn from good practice. We will produce new guidance, support and communications to expand the learning and benefits of the whole system approaches by our regional teams and partners. We will support local public health teams within health boards to further develop and deliver action plans, co-produced with their partners. The action plans will be informed by an understanding of the evidence base for different interventions to optimise their likely impact. The health boards will be supported to measure and evaluate outcomes.

Throughout this plan, each theme also focusses on actions to embed whole system approaches at national level, ensuring that all parts of the system join up and respond collectively to our shared goals.

Every child deserves the best start in life. The early years, especially the first 1,000 days (from pregnancy to age 2), are a crucial time for healthy growth. Eating well and being active early on helps children feel good, play, learn, and grow strong.

But some families face bigger challenges, making it harder to give children the best start in life. Almost a quarter of reception age children are living with overweight or obesity, highlighting the importance of ensuring children and their families are supported from an early age. By creating supportive and playful communities, childcare settings and health services, we can enable all children to develop lifelong healthy behaviours, reducing health issues and setting them up for a brighter future.

Parental diet and weight have been associated with fertility and intergenerational impacts on children and putting on too much or too little weight during pregnancy can also lead to health problems for the woman, or their unborn baby. Growth is an important indicator of a child’s health.

Available evidence suggests many UK infants are exceeding their calorie requirements, and overweight in infancy is likely to track into childhood and later life. The Scientific Advisory Commission on Nutrition (SACN) has advised governments to consider ways to monitor the prevalence of overweight and overfeeding in infants, and ways to address high energy intakes. The UK Government recommendation is for babies to be exclusively breastfed until around six months and continue to be breastfed for at least the first year of life.

Breast milk, infant formula and water should be the only drinks offered between 6 and 12 months of age and milk or water, in addition to breast milk, should constitute the majority of drinks given to children aged 1 to 5 (SACN, 2023). Young children should not be given drinks sweetened with sugar or non-sugar sweeteners (SACN 2025) and fruit juice, which currently contributes over 10% of free sugar intake in children aged one-and-a-half to 4.

The Competition and Market Authority’s market study into infant formula and follow-on formula found a combination of factors is leading to poor outcomes for parents, who could be saving around £300 a year by switching to a lower priced brand. Issues include the design and operation of current regulations and the responses of consumers to advertising, which emphasises branding when, in fact, all infant formula will meet babies’ full nutritional needs. It made a number of recommendations to the 4 UK governments, including:

• eliminating brand influence in healthcare settings: design and implement effective policies and processes to proactively provide parents and expecting parents with timely, clear, accurate and impartial information about the nutritional sufficiency of infant formula products
• equipping parents to make strong choices in retail: introduce regulatory measures to require that physical and online retail settings prominently display specified information on nutritional sufficiency in close proximity to infant formula products available for sale (this should be preceded by a voluntary pilot programme)
• strengthening the labelling and advertising rules: revise the infant formula and follow-on formula regulations or introduce other regulatory measures so that there is a requirement for manufacturers to display information on nutritional sufficiency directly and prominently on the labelling of their infant formula products
• ensuring effective enforcement of current and updated regulations: governments to assess whether labels are ‘clearly distinct’ and communicate assessment to manufacturers and enforcers

Most infants should not start solid foods until around the age of 6 months, having achieved developmental readiness.

Active play improves a child’s fitness and health, helps to improve their mental health and cognitive development as well as building confidence and improving social skills. Active play outdoors that can be classed as moderate to vigorous exercise is best for protecting against the risk of obesity.

Our goals to support babies, infants and young children are:

• babies are born healthy and well because their parents are a healthy weight
• children grow steadily in their first year of life and are a healthy weight when they start school
• a growing number of babies enjoy the benefits of breast milk and the current inequalities in breastfeeding rates between groups are reduced
• young children only drink milk or water
• all children in Wales can enjoy a healthy varied diet
• parents can provide a healthy varied diet for their children
• all children in Wales are able to play outdoors everyday

Our actions

Action 4: we will develop and deliver a new infant feeding action plan

Evidence suggests many infants are exceeding their calorie requirements, with overweight in infancy tracking into childhood and later life. Through this delivery plan, we will develop and deliver an infant feeding action plan, which will support our babies and children from birth to school age. It will:

• build on the 2019 to 2024 All Wales Breastfeeding Action Plan to continue to increase the number of babies who benefit from breastfeeding
• support formula-fed babies by actioning the appropriate Competition and Market Authority report recommendations and support the introduction of solid foods to establish healthy food preferences, dietary patterns and growth
• embed these, and actions to maximise physical activity, into our family support programmes, such as Flying Start and childcare settings

Key goals and actions

Increase breastfeeding rates, ensuring more babies benefit from breastmilk and establish breastfeeding as the cultural norm through:

• once for Wales UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative (BFI): all health boards nationally supported to achieve gold BFI accreditation within 3 years, with an initial focus on increasing breastfeeding rates in Flying Start areas
• enhanced access to support for families through the National Breastfeeding Helpline
• launch of Public Health Wales breastfeeding welcome scheme in the autumn to support normalisation of breastfeeding in public

Empower and enable parents to provide nutritious diets for their children:

• Formula-fed babies: we will respond to CMA recommendations at a national and UK level to ensure infant formula is affordable. For our most vulnerable young families, we are reviewing the support provided by the Healthy Start Scheme.
• Build on good practice in Cardiff and Vale to identify opportunities for widening dietetic support in Flying Start areas across Wales.

Support steady growth in young children by:

• Nationally collating Healthy Child Wales weight and length measurements.
• Explore opportunities for additional measurements through the Flying Start enhanced health visitor offer. This provides opportunities for early identification of unhealthy weight gain and early intervention to support healthier behaviours in line with SACN recommendations to governments.

Healthy Early Years food environment, where all childcare settings in Wales provide children with access to a healthy, varied diet:

• Public Health Wales will evaluate how childcare settings across Wales support children to eat healthily including:
  • whether they follow Welsh Government food and nutrition guidance for childcare providers
  • staff training
  • the impact of how being engaged with the Welsh Network of Healthy Pre-School Schemes, the delivery of Flying Start childcare offer, the Childcare offer for Wales, and the CIW Inspection process
• the findings will inform an enhanced national approach to maximise the role of settings

During the course of this delivery plan, behavioural science will be used to understand how societal and environmental factors influence parents’ capability, opportunity and motivation in adopting behaviours that support optimal nutrition, to inform future delivery plans.

Action 5: we will review the Healthy Start Scheme and evaluate opportunities in to further support families on low incomes in Wales to access healthier food

The Healthy Start Scheme is a UK Government initiative designed to reduce economic and health inequalities by supporting families on the lowest incomes by providing help to buy fruit, vegetables, milk and infant formula, as well as free healthy start vitamins.

The majority of children spend a significant amount of their week in school. Our schools and settings play an influential role in providing a supportive environment in which children develop positive physical activity and food behaviours, shaping their lifelong relationship with food and physical activity.

Schools and settings also have the potential to help remove barriers and enhance opportunities for those children who have less opportunity to participate in after school activities or to try a range of different foods at home, and in doing so help to reduce inequalities.

Our goals for schools and settings are:

• school meals meet learners' nutritional requirements
• food provided in school premises is healthy by default
• children develop the knowledge, skills and confidence to plan, grow, prepare and cook affordable and healthier food
• children experience a range of different foods and understand where they come from
• physical activity is part of the day-to-day life of the school
• all children have opportunities to be active during the school day
• all children have the opportunity to explore and experience a range of sport and active recreation options and are helped to find the ones that they enjoy
• children are physically literate

Our actions

Action 6: increase the nutritional value and take up of school meals through the review of the Healthy Eating in Schools Regulations

The School Food and Nutrition Standards in Wales are designed to ensure all food and drink provided in maintained schools contribute to a healthy, balanced diet for students. These standards are part of the Healthy Eating in Schools (Nutritional Standards and Requirements) (Wales) Regulations 2013, which were established under the Healthy Eating in Schools (Wales) Measure 2009. The standards ensure that children in Wales have access to nutritious meals that support their health and wellbeing and local authorities have a duty to comply with the regulations. The Healthy Eating in Schools (Wales) Measure 2009 also includes a requirement for schools to promote healthy eating. School governing bodies are required to report annually on the actions taken to promote healthy eating and drinking. Estyn, the education and training inspectorate for Wales, also reports to the Welsh Ministers on the actions taken by schools.

Action 7: we will develop food and physical activity guidance and resources to support the health and wellbeing area of learning and experience of the Curriculum for Wales

The Curriculum for Wales framework offers greater flexibility to schools and settings about what to teach and how it is taught. The curriculum’s mandatory Health and Wellbeing Area of Learning and Experience aims to ensure that school-level curricula build learning and support on physical, mental and emotional health, for all young people in Wales.

The framework emphasises the importance of physical development, with clear progression in physical literacy and activity. It highlights the need for learners to have ongoing, daily opportunities to be physically active, which is crucial for developing healthy and active lifestyles that promote good health and wellbeing throughout their lives. Additionally, this area of the curriculum helps learners understand the factors that affect physical health and wellbeing, such as:

• healthy eating
• nutrition
• sleep

The curriculum provides opportunities for learners to develop an understanding of various perspectives and make informed decisions on issues like sourcing local nutritious foods, food production and sustainability. It also focuses on developing practical cooking skills, which are essential for promoting healthy eating habits. Supporting the curriculum framework with guidance and resources will provide further support to deliver teaching in these key areas. The delivery of the action will be led by Public Health Wales working with Adnodd, the new body responsible for national education resources.

Action 8: we will work with Public Health Wales to further embed opportunities in schools to focus on healthier eating and physical activity

The Welsh Network of Health and Wellbeing Promoting School (WNHWPS), led by Public Health Wales, aims to promote the health and wellbeing of everyone who learns, works, and plays within schools in Wales through adopting a whole-school approach to health and wellbeing.

A "Health promoting school" is one which takes responsibility for maintaining and promoting the health of all who "learn, work, play and live" within it, not only through the formal health and wellbeing curriculum, but by enabling schools themselves to take control over aspects of the school environment which influence health. The network actively promotes and protects the physical, mental and social health and wellbeing of its community through positive action. This can be achieved through the core component areas of the new proposed standards.

The Daily Active approach is being developed to complement the Curriculum for Wales with the aim of enabling schools to provide a diverse range of physical activity offers for pupils before, during and after the school day. The approach is underpinned by a whole-school system approach. Supporting all schools to create healthy and active learning environments with strong connections to their local community. The approach aims to make a significant step change in the number of school children who are active for 60 minutes or more each day through direct and indirect offers.

This will include:

• a daily active assessment tool and accompanying guidance
• an assessment tool and guidance to enable schools to evaluate progress in implementing a whole school approach to food
• implementing a new delivery model for the Welsh Network of Health and Wellbeing Promoting Schools

The School Health Research Network (SHRN) enables schools to monitor children’s physical activity, dietary behaviour, and other health and wellbeing measures over time. SHRN helps schools, and those who support schools, to make evidence-based actions for health improvement.

Action 9: we will support healthy weight initiatives that reduce health and economic inequalities

There are a number of initiatives that support reducing health and economic inequalities. These include universal free school meals for primary school children, grants including the Pupil Development Grant that has a particular focus on the need of disadvantaged learners and the School Essentials Grant that provides financial support to low-income families to help cover various school-related costs including cooking and nutrition education.

The "food and fun" School Holiday Enrichment Programme is a school-based scheme that provides healthy meals, food and nutrition education, physical activity and enrichment sessions to learners in areas of socio-economic disadvantage for a minimum of 12 days during the school summer holidays.

Children and their families can also engage in joint physical activity and learn about the benefits of healthy food adopting Community Focused School (CFS) approaches. In 2025 to 2026, schools across Wales will receive £2 million in Welsh Government funding to support enrichment including sporting, creative, cultural and play based experiences in and around the school day.

Our food environment, which is the food available to us in our local area and how it is labelled and marketed, plays a central role in what we choose to eat and drink.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recognises that managing obesity clinically cannot be separated from the environment in which people live. This includes the food environment, such as proximity to food retail outlets and the types of food available. Both the built and natural environment play a significant role and are a crucial component of the multi-faceted approach needed to combat overweight and obesity. "Food matters: Wales" illustrates how our policies come together around the Welsh Government’s 10 wellbeing objectives, which in turn maximise our contribution to Wales’ 7 long term wellbeing goals under the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.

Retail sector

Within our food stores and supermarkets, promotions are often targeted at less healthy products, which may be high in fat, sugar or salt, rather than healthier options^{[footnote 1]}. These products also tend to be placed in prime positions, such as the end of aisles or at checkouts. The average price of food in our shopping baskets is now 30% higher than it was in 2022, and healthier food also tends to cost more than less healthy options. While this pattern has persisted for at least the past decade, the gap has widened in the past 2 years.

Our goals are:

• communities have neighbourhood access to affordable healthier foods
• advertising, promotions and placement in retail settings promote healthier options
• food labelling in retail settings supports informed choice
• subsidies and incentives promote fruit and vegetables
• a healthy shopping basket is affordable
• proportion of sales of less healthy foods falls over time

Our actions

Action 10: we will work with partners to design and test voluntary approaches to improve and increase the pace of change in the provision of more healthy, affordable food in retail settings

We will work with retailers, academics and subject matter experts to develop and explore a range of possible approaches for encouraging and enabling people to make healthier choices.

This exploratory work will maintain a focus on improving both the affordability and accessibility of healthier food, especially for families in our most deprived communities. By March 2027, we will aim to have implemented a consumer behaviour change trial to test the effectiveness of at least one of the measures identified through our exploratory work. If the trial is successful, we plan to continue working with retailers on a voluntary basis to build on and embed this learning.

This work will build on the restrictions on less healthy food, which are designed to be the first step in a balanced package of measures aimed at improving the health of our retail food environments and reducing the health inequalities linked to the cost and inaccessibility of healthier options.

On 11 February 2025, Welsh Government laid The Food (Promotion and Presentation) (Wales) Regulations 2025, which takes forward 3 proposals from our 2022 healthy food environment consultation. These regulations, which are due to come into force in 2026, will restrict the promotion of high fat, salt and sugar foods and their display at key selling locations within the retail sector and restrict free refills for sugary drinks in the retail and out of home sectors.

Out of home sector

Eating out and buying takeaways is an increasingly common part of our everyday lives. A Food Standards Agency report in 2024 found more than half the UK population had eaten food in a restaurant, café, coffee shop or sandwich shop over the previous month; more than a third had eaten at a fast-food outlet and just under a third had eaten takeaway food ordered from an online food delivery company. Defra statistics show UK expenditure on food and drink consumed outside the home per person per week was £10.06 compared to expenditure on household food and drink at £33.27.

Food from takeaways, cafes or restaurants generally contains more calories than food prepared in the home. People in many areas of Wales do not live within easy walking distance of food outlets which sell a good selection of affordable, healthier food such as fruit and vegetables. Conversely, the number of takeaways in Wales has increased significantly in recent years and there is a link between a high density of takeaways and areas of deprivation. A study by the Obesity Health Alliance (2024) found that, in the UK, deprived areas have up to five times more fast-food outlets than wealthier neighbourhoods, making healthier food choices more difficult and exacerbating health inequalities between these areas. Similarly, the study identified that urban areas have a higher concentration of fast food outlets, which limits access to healthier food options and is often linked to higher obesity rates among residents.

Research has also found that a higher presence of takeaways was associated with unhealthy dietary habits in children. A connection has been established between the proximity of fast food outlets and general food stores to schools and the prevalence of childhood obesity. The most common time for children to make purchases is immediately after school, with many choosing food outlets located along their routes to and from school. Research also suggests that the broader food environment in which children live plays a significant role in childhood obesity, indicating that the neighbourhood where children spend the majority of their time has the greatest influence on their health.

Our actions

Action 11: building on our Healthy Food Environment consultation in 2022, we will consult on a range of proposals to support a healthier balance of food outlets in Wales

This will take forward our commitments in the Healthy Weight: Healthy Wales strategy:

• limits placed on hot food takeaways around schools
• limits placed on the promotions of food and drinks high in saturated fat, salt and sugar, including free refills
• support to increase the availability of healthier food options on high streets
• supporting local food businesses to develop healthy food choices

A range of interventions could support a change in the balance of food outlets in local communities, for example, by using planning rules and guidance. This could include:

• the creation of exclusion zones near places frequented by children and families, such as schools, parks and leisure centres
• distance or walking time based exclusion zones or the restriction of takeaway food outlet opening hours during school lunch times, and immediately after school

The aim of such an approach would be to protect children’s health by reducing exposure to unhealthy food environments.

Other action to reduce the clustering of businesses selling food products high in fat, salt and sugar and to support food businesses selling healthier foods could include initiatives such as:

• Licencing initiatives, working in parallel with planning policy, to support the promotion of healthy food environments. New initiatives could, for example, include the requirement of a licence for those selling high in fat, salt and sugar foods or the provision of licencing which restricts what food is sold to children during specific hours.
• Support for local food businesses about reformulating their products and advice about nutritional analysis.
• How marketing and labelling of less healthy foods can be addressed so buyers are not incentivised or encouraged to buy these products.
• Undertake further research on potential measures that could be implemented to regulate digital food environments.
• Healthier catering initiatives designed to encourage outlets to switch to healthier ingredients, products, menus and cooking practices.
• Introducing food standards for restaurant, vending or retail catering outlets on public sector sites. These food standards could be incorporated into existing contract and procurement processes.
• Advice and support for out of home food providers.

Community and sustainable food systems

The Community Food Strategy (CFS) aims to encourage the production and supply of affordable, sustainable and locally sourced food in Wales. Food is a critical Foundational Economy (FoEc) sector, the biggest by number of businesses (inclusive of retail), with 18,190 businesses, making up 28% of the FoEc and 17% of all businesses in Wales. The CFS focuses on invigorating and supporting grassroots food-related initiatives and improving the focus on food matters in policy making, planning, and service delivery at a community scale. Towards this goal, the Welsh Government has committed funding of over £3 million, in 2025 to 2026, to further develop the network of Local Food Partnerships across Wales and to continue supporting and resourcing food partnerships until March 2028. The purpose of this investment is to support the development and long-term viability of local food initiatives by building strong relationships between them and the communities they serve. Grant funding objectives for Local Food Partnerships include a focus on the local availability, affordability, access and consumption of healthy and nutritious food for all community citizens, including for those experiencing poverty and with protected characteristics.

The Community Food Strategy will underpin the actions within the Healthy Weight: Healthy Wales delivery plan, particularly around improving the provision and access to locally sourced, healthy food. Our engagement has stressed the unique opportunity to support growth in community growing and horticulture, utilising green spaces and encouraging farm diversification, to promote the local supply of nutrient dense fresh food produce. There is also a clear opportunity to link the framework of Welsh Government food policy with the commitment of the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, in Cymru Can 2023 to 2030, for food as an area of focus, acknowledging the centrality of food and diet for delivering the wellbeing goals and achieving a healthier Wales.

The Child Poverty Strategy sets out Welsh Government’s actions to tackle child poverty and outlines how we will work across Government and with partners to maximise the impact of the levers available to us. Since 2019, the Welsh Government has allocated over £27 million to support community food organisations to tackle food insecurity and provide a wider range of services to help individuals and households maximise their income and build financial resilience. Funding has supported foodbanks and community food organisations to overcome barriers to accessing, storing and distributing additional supplies of good quality food, including good food surplus. It has also provided funding for Local Food Partnership Coordinators who seek to bring members of the community together to work towards a more resilient food system, with shorter food miles, less food waste and improved access to nutritional, affordable food for everyone. The Food Partnership are supporting a range of food related projects which aim to increase access to locally grown produce for all, building community knowledge and skills in growing, facilitating nutrition and cooking skills sessions and helping to reduce the carbon footprint.

The roll out of the Universal Primary Free School Meals (UPFSM) across Wales is a major step change which demonstrates how public service demand can create new opportunities for healthy, local food supply. Initiatives through support for the Foundational Economy, including the online resource "Buying food fit for the future", projects delivered through the "Backing local firms fund" and the "Welsh food on the public plate" programme are all strengthening relationships between local producers and wholesalers and helping to satisfy public sector demand. Welsh wholesalers, such as Castell Howell and Harlech, are working innovatively with local growers and producers to record remarkable increases in the supply of Welsh products going into schools and hospitals.

Food related projects receiving Foundational Economy funding have focussed on increasing supply of sustainable Welsh vegetables and Welsh meat into schools. These include:

• the "Welsh veg in schools" project, led by Food Sense Wales
• Castell Howell developing a nutritious new range of Welsh dishes for schools (including Welsh meatballs)
• Larder Cymru working with Harlech on school menu development to streamline food procurement by North Wales local authorities to maximise supply of Welsh food into schools

Projects for 2025 to 2026 include Larder Cymru trialling salad bars in a range of secondary schools (learning from the Malmo model) to increase healthy eating and use of local, seasonal produce, and also working with suppliers to help ensure compliance with the new Healthy Eating Regulations and identify opportunities for reformulation or new product development.

Action 12: we will consult on options to improve the healthy food offer in public sector settings, including within NHS settings, local authorities and leisure centres

This will include consideration of options to introduce public sector procurement guidance or standards to support the provision of a healthy food offer and a range of toolkits, guidance and support across different settings.

Public sector food and nutrition standards to support the procurement of healthier food options are guided by several frameworks and initiatives, which we will review for opportunities to further strengthen their implementation in Wales in public sector settings. The Social Partnership and Public Procurement (Wales) Act 2023 promotes sustainable development through social partnership working, fair work, and socially responsible procurement. It requires that a contracting authority must seek to improve the economic, social, environmental and cultural wellbeing of its area by carrying out public procurement in a socially responsible way.

The Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering Services, which were implemented in 2011 and updated in 2021, include mandatory standards for central government procurers directly, or through their catering contracts, to reduce the intake of high fat, sugar, and salt foods and increase the consumption of healthier foods. While these standards are not devolved to Wales, they may provide a reference point for developing local standards. From a broader perspective, the World Health Organization supports countries in improving food systems with a package of priority actions, including healthy public food procurement and service policies. These policies involve setting criteria for food served or sold in public settings, such as schools, hospitals, and government offices, to ensure the provision of nutritious, safe and healthy food.

Food advertising

Food advertising plays a significant role in shaping dietary behaviours and public health outcomes. Most food and drink advertisements promote less healthy HFSS products, which significantly influence dietary habits and contribute to obesity, particularly in children. Children are especially vulnerable to the persuasive techniques employed by food advertisers, such as the use of bright colours, cartoon characters, and emotional appeals that create positive associations with less healthy foods. Such advertising fosters unhealthy eating habits that persist into adulthood and contributes to the rising prevalence of obesity and diet related diseases. Children are also highly vulnerable to such marketing due to their limited ability to recognise its persuasive intent.

Unlike television and digital media advertising, public spaces remain largely unregulated resulting in continued exposure to less healthy food advertisements and studies indicate that outdoor advertising of less healthy foods significantly impacts consumer cravings and diets, akin to online advertising. This exposure is especially problematic in environments frequented by children, such as public transport systems, schools and recreational facilities. Loopholes remain in relation to outdoor advertising, event sponsorship and digital media and the existing nutrient profiling models used to classify less healthy foods are also outdated. Existing guidelines, like those from the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), also fail to protect children adequately due to loopholes and limited enforcement.

Exposure to less healthy food advertising is not evenly distributed across populations. Children and adults from more deprived backgrounds are disproportionately targeted by high fat, salt and sugar marketing due to higher reliance on public transport and residence in areas with a higher density of outdoor advertisements. Studies have found that more deprived neighbourhoods are more likely to feature a greater proportion of less healthy food advertisements compared to affluent areas, exacerbating health inequalities.

Our Healthy Weight: Healthy Wales strategy sets out the following commitments by 2030:

• A ban on advertising, sponsorship and promotion of foods high in saturated fat, sugar and salt in public spaces. This will include bus and train stations, sporting events, family attractions, schools (including close to), hospitals, leisure centres and other public spaces.
• An increase in the promotion of healthier alternatives and incentivising products which support positive choices.
• The Welsh Government will work with the UK Government to further restrict advertising in broadcast and online settings, which are non-devolved.

Progress to date

The Advertising (Less Healthy Food Definitions and Exemptions) Regulations 2024 were laid before Parliament on 3 December 2024 and will come into force UK-wide on 1 October 2025. This includes:

• a 9pm watershed for less healthy food or drink advertising on TV, including all on-demand programme services (ODPS) and internet protocol television (IPTV) services under the jurisdiction of the UK, and therefore regulated by Ofcom
• a total restriction on paid-for advertising of less healthy food or drink online, including non-Ofcom regulated ODPS and IPTV

The UK Government estimate that these restrictions will remove up to 7.2 billion calories from UK children’s diets per year and reduce the number of children living with obesity by 20,000. This figure is derived from the multiplication of the predicted calorie reduction (taken from the impact assessment on HFSS advertising restrictions) and the estimated number of children positively influenced by the policy.

A policy to restrict advertising of high in fat, sugar or salt foods is in place across the Transport for Wales estate, which was introduced from 2023.

Our actions

Action 13: we will consult on a range of options to ban advertising, sponsorship and promotion of foods which are high in saturated fat, sugar and salt in public spaces across Wales

A range of initiatives have been taken forward across the UK to either ban or restrict the marketing of food high in saturated fat, salt or sugar in public spaces, or to promote healthier food options in these spaces.

Local authorities and other public bodies primarily influence outdoor advertising through spaces they own or control, however, these make up a small proportion of the total advertising estate, as most spaces are privately owned.

Where such initiatives have been successful, the following is needed:

• Strong political leadership and commitment.
• Effective partnerships between national government, local authorities, NHS health boards, public health authorities, transport departments, industry stakeholders and community advocacy groups are essential to secure buy-in.
• Policies should cover all government-owned assets and all marketing aimed at or accessible to children, regardless of intended audience as broader national policies may be more effective than fragmented local efforts, ensuring consistency and wider reach.
• Public support and awareness campaigns are critical to gaining momentum for policy implementation. Research suggests there is often broad public support for policies that restrict unhealthy food marketing, particularly in environments targeting children, and there is growing demand for truthful food advertising, with parents expressing concerns about deceptive marketing targeting children.
• There are also opportunities for communications to encourage the promotion of healthier food and local businesses, fostering economic recovery and public health gains. 

Phased implementation has proven to be an effective strategy, allowing for gradual adaptation and minimising disruptions for businesses and advertisers.

Reformulating food products

There are a range of fiscal and voluntary measures the UK Government is taking forward to incentivise businesses to reformulate food and drink products.

The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities reduction and formulation programme engages with all sectors of the food and drinks industry (retailers, manufacturers, restaurants, takeaway and delivery) to voluntarily reduce the amount of sugar, salt and calories in the food and drink that contribute to the intakes of children and adults. While these voluntary targets apply in England, the UK food and drink sector operates across the UK. The programme has had success in reducing levels of sugar, salt and calories in some product categories, but there is scope for the industry to do more.

Since its introduction, the Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) has successfully led to extensive product reformulation, with a 46% average reduction in sugar in those soft drinks in scope of the levy between 2015 and 2020. The UK Government announced in the autumn budget 2024 it is taking steps to ensure the SDIL remains effective and fit for purpose. It will review the SDIL’s operation and structure, with a view to further reduce the sugar content in soft drinks. The review will consider:

• the sugar content thresholds at which the SDIL applies
• whether to remove the current exemptions for milk-based and milk substitute drinks

Our actions

Action 14: we will explore the viability and potential effectiveness of additional fiscal measures to encourage the sector to create healthier products

We will work with the UK Government to review and consider UK-wide measures and explore Wales-specific measures.

We want to understand what more can be done to support and encourage both retail and out of home food and drink businesses to produce healthier options for consumers. To ensure any future approaches are effective in enabling system-wide improvements in this area, we also wish to understand how we may be able to tailor our approach to businesses of different sizes.

By March 2027, we will have completed our exploratory work and have developed a plan to take forward any feasible and effective measures.

Action 15: we will continue to work with the food and drink sector in Wales to support reformulations for healthier options through a combination of working with our cluster networks, our Market Insight work, and through technical support from the food technology centres we support

Wales has a thriving food and drink sector. Our aim is to protect and support the growth of Welsh businesses, while ensuring they contribute positively to our local food environments.

We are the first generation which needs to make a conscious decision to build physical activity into our daily lives. Fewer of us have manual jobs and technology dominates at home and at work. The 2 places where we spend most of our time. Societal changes are designing physical activity out of our lives.

An estimated 800,000 people aged 16 and over are currently inactive in Wales^{[footnote 2]}. In the UK, physical inactivity is associated with one in 6 deaths and up to 40% of many long-term conditions. Despite the huge array of established individual and community level health and wellbeing benefits of physical activity, more than a third of adults and over half of 3 to 17 year olds do not currently meet the respective health-optimising UK Chief Medical Officers’ physical activity guidelines.

Increasing the duration of physical activity of any intensity, and less time spent sitting, is associated with a variety of positive mental and physical health benefits^{[footnote 3]}. At a population health level there is more impact enabling inactive people to become more active than getting active people to do more activity. This can be achieved by reducing sedentary time and increasing physical activity in small doses^{[footnote 4]}.

To create lasting change, we need a whole system approach; one that ensures movement is not just encouraged but embedded into the fabric of our daily lives across Wales. Underpinning and informing our efforts to achieve a more active Wales is the WHO’s Global Action Plan on Physical Activity which sets out a range of policy actions under 4 strategic objectives:

• create active societies
• create active environments
• create active people
• creating active systems

Our goals are:

• adults and children participate at least weekly in sport or exercise or active recreation
• all children have an opportunity to play outdoors every day
• active travel is the default option for shorter journeys in Wales
• children walk, wheel or cycle to school whenever possible
• more people take more journeys by public transport
• people have opportunity to easily access green spaces for recreation
• neighbourhood design, particularly in areas with higher levels of deprivation, enables everyday physical activity

Our actions

Action 16: we will optimise opportunities to create a more active nation, through a place making and whole systems approach, encouraging cross sector collaboration to promote the health benefits of incorporating more activity into daily life

Sport partnerships will be a game changer for future generations, transforming the way community sport and exercise is created, delivered, led and funded. Designed to overcome ongoing and stubborn inequalities in participation in leisure time activity, these partnerships aim to transform Wales into an active nation where everyone can have a lifelong enjoyment of sport.

The regional sports partnerships will combine resources, expertise, and learning from a range of sectors, and will respond to regional needs with a focus on removing barriers to participation, especially for underrepresented groups such as young people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds, those with disabilities, those in areas of deprivation, and those from underserved communities.

Action 17: we will promote the UK Chief Medical Officers' physical activity guidelines to key professionals and practitioners

The UK Chief Medical Officers’ physical activity guidelines communications framework provides guidance for the UK and devolved governments about how to communicate the UK CMOs’ physical activity guidelines.

We will increase awareness, understanding and the importance of the guidelines across the health and social care workforce to make every contact count to raise awareness of the benefits of physical activity.

Action 18: we will support affordable, accessible active play environments that meet the developmental needs of young children

Playing is central to children’s physical, mental, social, and emotional health and wellbeing. Being able to play and be physically active outdoors helps children feel part of their neighbourhoods and wider communities.

The Children and Families (Wales) Measure 2010 places a statutory duty on local authorities to assess and, as far as is reasonably practicable, secure sufficient opportunities for children to play in their areas. In response to recommendations made within the Ministerial Review of Play report, the Welsh Government, in collaboration with Play Wales and the Local Authority Play Sufficiency Network have reviewed and refreshed the "Wales: a play friendly country" statutory guidance and accompanying toolkit.

The importance of play and how schools and school staff can promote the benefits of play with parents and provide opportunities for links with the wider community is a key aspect of the Community Focused Schools policy and guidance. The incorporation of play in the guidance covers 3 areas:

• engaging with parents through the family engagement officer role to promote the benefits of play and encourage family or child play interaction
• schools linking up with play organisations and community groups to make connections to what is already offered within the community
• the potential for schools to provide play space outside of the school day through the opening up of school grounds

Action 19: we will increase participation in initiatives that encourage active travel, including enabling more children to walk, wheel or cycle to school, and explore opportunities to further embed health outcomes into active travel initiatives

The Active Travel (Wales) Act 2013 is the key legislation supporting active travel in Wales and promotes walking, wheeling and cycling as viable modes of transport for everyday journeys. It places a legal duty on local authorities in Wales to map, plan for, and actively promote active travel journeys.

Active travel is also supported by:

• the Active Travel Fund
• the Restricted Roads (20 mph Speed Limit) (Wales) Order 2022 which reduces the general speed limit to reduce the risk and severity of accidents, making roads safer for pedestrians and cyclists
• the Environment (Air Quality and Soundscapes) (Wales) Act 2024 amended the Active Travel (Wales) Act 2013 and introduced new board duties on Welsh Government and local authorities to promote active travel as a way of limiting or reducing air pollution
• the planning policy plays a significant role in supporting active travel by promoting sustainable development and integrating active travel considerations into the planning process

The Active Travel Delivery Plan 2024 to 2027 sets out in more detail how the Welsh Government and its delivery partners will implement the active travel commitments in "Llwybr newydd: the Wales transport strategy" and the "National transport delivery plan", and increase modal shift by making active travel easier to access, more attractive to use and more inclusive. Better integration with public transport will also increase mode shift and help people to walk or wheel for parts of their journeys. Welsh Government is also working with local authorities to improve roads and pavements, including school routes, to make them safer for people walking, wheeling and cycling.

An Active Travel to School Hub has been established in the Welsh Government which will consolidate efforts and improve coordination by supporting current initiatives such as the Safe Routes in Communities (SRiC) Grant and directly funded programmes like Active Journeys and WOW Walk to School. The hub will also support collaboration through initiatives like comprehensive mapping of active travel data, developing school streets guidance, and collaborating with Public Health Wales and Welsh Government colleagues in education. The ultimate goal is to develop a single point for the co-ordination and delivery of active travel to schools across Wales.

Action 20: we will explore the role of the planning system in developing and maintaining active local environments to build a picture of how policies are implemented locally

The aim of this new piece of work is to identify good practice and opportunities that could be rolled out across Wales. Planning policies are in place to support local planning teams to develop and maintain active local environments, through active travel routes, access to green and blue spaces, access to outdoor play and recreation spaces and local neighbourhood design which enables the inactive to be more active. Wales has a comprehensive planning framework that includes national policies and local development plans. Key elements include "Future Wales: the national plan 2040", a strategic national development framework which includes a focus on health and wellbeing, aiming to create healthier communities through sustainable development and improved access to green spaces.

Planning Policy Wales provides the overarching national planning policy framework for Wales and contributes to health outcomes by promoting sustainable development and creating environments that support physical and mental wellbeing. Planning Policy Wales encourages the use of health impact assessments to evaluate the potential health effects of planning decisions. This ensures that health considerations are integrated into the planning process.

Each local authority in Wales prepares local development plans, which sets out policies and proposals for land use in their area. Local development plans integrate health considerations into spatial planning and development processes for example by encouraging the development of walkable communities with accessible green spaces, parks, and recreational facilities, which promote physical activity and reduce sedentary behaviour. Also fundamental to planning in Wales is the Placemaking Wales Charter which emphasises quality, sustainability, and community involvement in planning to encourage:

• community engagement: involving local communities in the development process to ensure their needs and aspirations are met
• sustainable locations: choosing locations that support walking, cycling, and public transport
• quality public spaces: creating well defined, safe, and welcoming streets and public spaces

Action 21: we will create, enhance and protect green and blue spaces to support opportunities for active recreation

There are a range of initiatives supporting access to our green and blue spaces. The Community Land Advisory Service, funded by the Welsh Government, offers specialist support and advice for community-led green space projects across Wales.

The Local Places for Nature programme in Wales offers garden packages for community groups to create nature gardens and enhance green spaces within communities, especially in urban and peri-urban areas.

The National Forest for Wales is a Welsh Government project to create a continuous network of woodlands across the country.

Wales’ National Parks (Eryri, Pembrokeshire Coast, and Bannau Brycheiniog), the 5 national landscapes, and the Wales Coast Path provide spaces for outdoor activities like hiking, climbing, and water sports, promoting physical health and wellbeing.

Allotments and community gardens in Wales significantly promote health, wellbeing, and community cohesion. They offer spaces for people to grow their own food, engage in physical activity, and connect with nature and their neighbours.

The Welsh Government has allocated a £4 million Access Improvement Grant to enhance public rights of way, open access land, and green spaces, aiming to improve accessibility and promote outdoor activities for better physical and mental health.

Local Nature Partnerships Cymru is an initiative aimed at building a nature recovery network across Wales encouraging outdoor activities like walking, gardening, and conservation work. The Sustainable Landscapes, Sustainable Places grant in Wales supports projects that enhance the natural environment and promote sustainable practices. It also includes funding for health and wellbeing projects within designated landscapes.

The All Wales weight management pathway seeks to improve outcomes for people by ensuring that all levels of service are built on a shared understanding of the complexity of factors which lead to overweight and obesity, emphasising that services must be person-centred, empathetic, respectful and non-judgemental. It focuses on the weight management journey, from early intervention to specialist support and is divided into 4 levels.

Level 1

Advice and self-directed support. This includes initial advice and resources for individuals to manage their weight independently through the Healthy Weight Healthy You website.

Level 2

Multi-component weight management services. This includes more structured programmes (dietary, physical activity and behavioural) delivered or commissioned by health boards. To support the level 2 offer, the Welsh Government funds FIT FANS which is a free 12 week healthy living and weight loss programme for men and women aged 35 to 65 who want to lose weight and get fitter.

Level 3

Specialist multi-disciplinary assessment and weight management service. This involves more intensive support from a team of specialists and could include weight loss drugs. People who meet the clinical guidelines for prescription are also given support with diet and physical activity. Where there are psychological factors underpinning overweight and obesity, individuals should be referred to level 3 services to enable a full multi-disciplinary assessment, including from a psychologist.

Level 4

Specialist surgical services. This includes surgical interventions for weight management when other methods have not been successful.

Our actions

Action 22: we will take a continuous improvement approach to the All-Wales Weight Management Pathway, with a focus on early prevention and services for children

This will include the following actions:

• Evidence and evaluation of the PIPYN Children and Family Pilots and current provision within the services.
• Focus on putting in place robust mechanisms for data and reporting, building on the work undertaken to date through the development of the Minimum Data Set.
• Conduct a review of weight loss drugs and treatment pathways in the context of NICE guidance. This will include the establishment of a weight loss drugs task and finish group to determine if and how tirzepatide and other weight loss medications licensed in the future, will be made available in the NHS in Wales. This work will consider implementation arrangements for primary care alongside the current specialist weight management services, assessment of capacity and costs, and developing safe and efficient delivery models that are scalable and sustainable.
• Publish guidance to support weight management during pregnancy
• Make changes to or develop new standards following the current NICE consultation on standards.

Action 23: we will review the outcome evaluation of the initial phase of the All Wales Diabetes Prevention programme during 2025 to 2026 and next steps

More than 220,000 people in Wales are living with diabetes and 9 in 10 have type 2 diabetes. This is a serious, and sometimes life-long condition, a leading cause of sight loss and a major contributor to kidney failure, heart attack and stroke. Around one in 11 adults in Wales could be living with diabetes by 2035 if current trends continue, according to analysis by Public Health Wales. However, more than half of the cases of type 2 diabetes could be prevented or delayed with behaviour changes. The initial phase of the All Wales Diabetes Prevention Programme (AWDPP) pilot and the evaluation findings will conclude in 2025 to 2026.

We will establish new thematic working groups, to include national and local partners, to help inform how we take forward the goals and actions in this delivery plan. The working groups will align national and local priorities and ensure a whole system approach is embedded through our plan. The regional teams will support us to identify opportunities to expand existing best practice across Wales.

In addition to the thematic working groups, a new strategic overview group will ensure effective co-ordination, communication, monitoring and evaluation of our strategy and delivery plan goals.

A national board will assess progress and accountability within the system. We will use the five ways of working set out in the Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 to guide our approach.

To provide greater leadership and transparency, we will publish and report against a new framework of goals and indicators which will help us to meet our long-term ambition of reducing adult and childhood obesity. We will finalise this framework during this first year of our new delivery plan. One of the priorities identified in the strategy relates to the development of an outcome and measurement framework so we can better understand and monitor the progress we are making. This is particularly important because of the range of factors which influence healthy weight and the long-term nature of the changes we are seeking to make. A series of goals, based around population groups and sub-systems, support each theme in this delivery plan. The aim of the goals is to help everyone focus on what we are trying to change. Associated indicators will be developed to enable us to measure whether things are moving in the right direction. It will also summarise the evidence for effective action against each of the goals in this delivery plan, building on the actions already set out. We will also, by the conclusion of this delivery plan, develop a high-level route map to support future delivery plans for Healthy Weight: Healthy Wales.

Action 1

Expand the PIPYN and PIPYN Actif programmes in Anglesey, Cardiff and Merthyr Tydfil.

Action 2

Strengthen governance and reporting structures to enable clear accountability for progress towards collective outcomes.

Action 3

Strengthen and embed further whole system approaches at both community and national levels.

Action 4

Develop and deliver a new infant feeding action plan.

Action 5

Review the Healthy Start Scheme and evaluate opportunities to further support families on low incomes in Wales to access healthier food.

Action 6

Increase the nutritional value and take-up of school meals through the review of the healthy eating in schools regulations.

Action 7

Develop food and physical activity guidance and resources to support the Health and Wellbeing Area of Learning and Experience of the Curriculum for Wales.

Action 8

Work with Public Health Wales to further embed opportunities in schools to focus on healthier eating and physical activity.

Action 9

Support healthy weight initiatives that reduce health and economic inequalities.

Action 10

Work with partners to design and test voluntary approaches to improve and increase the pace of change in the provision of more healthy, affordable food in retail settings.

Action 11

Consult on a range of proposals to support a healthier balance of food outlets in Wales.

Action 12

Consult on options to improve the healthy food offer in public sector settings, including within NHS settings, local authorities and leisure centres.

Action 13

Consult on a range of options to ban advertising, sponsorship, and promotion of foods high in saturated fat, sugar and salt in public spaces across Wales.

Action 14

Explore the viability and potential effectiveness of additional fiscal measures to encourage the sector to create healthier products.

Action 15

Continue to work with the food and drink sector in Wales to support reformulations for healthier options.

Action 16

Optimise opportunities to create a more active nation through a place-making and whole systems approach.

Action 17

Promote the UK Chief Medical Officers' physical activity guidelines to key professionals and practitioners.

Action 18

Support affordable, accessible active play environments that meet the developmental needs of young children.

Action 19

Increase participation in initiatives that encourage active travel, including enabling more children to walk, wheel or cycle to school.

Action 20

Explore the role of the planning system in developing and maintaining active local environments.

Action 21

Create, enhance and protect green and blue spaces to support opportunities for active recreation.

Action 22

Take a continuous improvement approach to the All-Wales weight management pathway, with a focus on early prevention and services for children.

Action 23

Review the outcome evaluation of the initial phase of the All-Wales diabetes prevention programme during 2025 to 2026 and next steps.

[1] Kantar. Worldpanel Take Home Purchasing. 52 week data to 29 December 19.

[2] Bradley J. Physical inactivity in Wales snapshot. Wales. Public Health Wales, 2024.

[3] Ekelund U, Tarp J, Johannessen J, Hansen B, Jefferis B, Fagerland M, Whincup P, Diaz K, Hooker S, Chemofsky A, Larson M, Spartano N, Vasan R, Dohm I, Hagstromer M, Edwardson C, Yates T, Shiroma E, Anderssen S and Lee I. Dose-response associations between accelerometry measured physical activity and sedentary time and all cause mortality: systematic review and harmonised meta-analysis. British Medical Journal, 2019. 366: 1 to 10.

[4] Ekelund U, Dalene K, Tarp J and Lee I. Physical activity and mortality: what is the dose response and how big is the effect? British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2020.