Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jo Swinson and Baroness Featherstone

Thursday 12th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Jo Swinson (East Dunbartonshire) (LD)]

2. What discussions she has had with ministerial colleagues on the effect of dieting on the health of women.

[The Minister for Equalities (Lynne Featherstone)]

I meet ministerial colleagues regularly to discuss a range of issues, including health, dieting and the body confidence campaign. Being at a healthy weight is important in helping people to reduce the risk of serious illness. The Government are committed to helping people to reach and stay at a healthy weight.

[Jo Swinson]

It is January, which means that adverts in women’s magazines everywhere are promoting diets and miracle weight-loss plans. The inquiry of the all-party parliamentary group on body image has heard evidence from the Royal College of Psychiatrists that not only do 90% of diets not work, but that for people who are susceptible, dieting can trigger eating disorders. How can the Government successfully promote fitness and healthy eating patterns against the onslaught of bad advice to skip meals, cut out food groups and obsess over every calorie, with all the negative health consequences that that creates?

[Lynne Featherstone]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on the work that she and the APPG do on body image issues. It is important that the link between dieting and eating disorders is looked at closely. She rightly mentions that 95% of diets fail. As a Government, we believe that a diet is not just for Christmas but must be about one’s lifestyle. The best advice is common sense. It is to eat healthily all year round and take appropriate amounts of exercise.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jo Swinson and Baroness Featherstone

Thursday 27th January 2011 Commons Chamber

[Jo Swinson (East Dunbartonshire) (LD)]

6. What assessment she has made of the effect on the well-being of women and girls of body image representations in the media.

[The Minister for Equalities (Lynne Featherstone)]

I would like to congratulate my hon. Friend on her tireless commitment to this area of work. I, too, remain deeply worried about this issue. I have met too many people, both male and female, whose lives have been affected by negative feelings about their body shape. Recently I convened a group of experts to discuss our shared concerns and the evidence that they had assembled. I am working with them and with relevant industries to identify non-legislative ways of tackling the issue.

[Jo Swinson]

Girlguiding UK regularly surveys young women and girls in the country and consistently shows that girls are unhappy with the prevalence of heavily airbrushed images and the ultra-thin ideal in the media. The Committee of Advertising Practice, which sets the advertising rules, is either oblivious or complacent about this problem, however, recently stating in a letter that it has

“seen very few ads that are targeted at children which appear to have been airbrushed”,

and that it does not think that this is “a widespread practice”. Will the Minister reassure the House that she will not let the advertising industry get away with dismissing this issue?

[Lynne Featherstone]

I can assure my hon. Friend that the advertising industry is more than well aware both of her work and of the Government’s intention to work with interested partners on this issue. I am sure that Members of all parties recognise that it is a real issue for girls, women and young men in this country.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jo Swinson and Baroness Featherstone

Monday 6th December 2010 Commons Chamber

[Lynne Featherstone]

On closing down anorexic websites, I will have to confer with my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Department for Education, who has taken on this work from Dr Papadopoulos and other recommendations that will be considered by the new review. On the labelling of airbrushing, I have met people from the industry and we are looking at what may be done to ensure that we no longer have a single image which so affects young people who are oppressed by having to conform with being over-skinny.

[Jo Swinson (East Dunbartonshire) (LD)]

Will my hon. Friend join me in praising Mumsnet’s Let Girls be Girls campaign, which has already seen dozens of companies sign up to support moves against the premature sexualisation of young people? Does she agree that companies should be encouraged to commit to responsible marketing and product selection for children, but that the Government need to recognise that, in some cases, regulation might be necessary on top of good practice by industry?

[Lynne Featherstone]

I thank my hon. Friend. I congratulate Mumsnet on its very admirable campaign on the sexualisation of children. Perhaps one of the best ways forward is to get corporations to sign up and develop their own responsibility. However, I understand from my colleague at the Department for Education that it will look at whatever is necessary, be it regulation or simple persuasion.