By promoting healthy lifestyle choices to families and children at a young age we will ensure our young people grow up understanding the importance of a healthy diet and regular exercise. This matters because there have been clear increases in obesity over the last 20 years in many developed countries, including this one. Obesity magnifies the risk of heart disease, diabetes and cancer, and shortens life by as much as nine years. Tackling childhood obesity is particularly important because excess weight in childhood tends to continue into adulthood. We are already improving school meals and have extended the provision of free fruit and vegetables to school children and increased awareness of healthy eating through the "Five -A-Day" campaign. Labour is now committed to reducing the proportion of overweight and obese children to 2000 levels by 2020.

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