Ministers should force food firms to put less salt and sugar in their products, introduce smaller portions and limit their sponsorship of sports events, an alliance of leading health charities has urged.

The group also wants GPs to prescribe exercise for patients much more often, and the government to consider a blanket ban on alcohol advertising as part of a concerted drive to stop so many people dying early.

The Richmond Group, which represents 12 charities including Diabetes UK and the British Heart Foundation (BHF), is demanding “brave action” to stop 250,000 Britons suffering a preventable death by 2025.

Tough action to improve the prevention of ill-health is “a moral and practical necessity” to tackle increasingly unhealthy lifestyles that cause obesity, diabetes and other conditions, the group says.

The food industry criticised the proposals as unnecessary and said that restricting firms’ ability to sponsor sports events would lead to even higher levels of physical inactivity.

The charities warn that without bold new measures the UK will miss the World Health Organisation’s target of reducing the number of people who die early by a quarter by 2025. Robust action could stop 250,000 Britons dying early and keep 630,000 men and 490,000 women free of disabilities resulting from illness ? such as obesity causing arthritis of the knees ? for an extra year, they say.

The mandatory reformulation of foodstuffs to reduce salt and sugar levels, together with smaller portion sizes, could save 26,000 lives by 2025, the report claims. It also says that increasing tobacco taxes at 5% above inflation rather than the current 2% would save another 2,450 lives.

“In recent years we have seen great improvements in cardiovascular disease, cancer and other chronic disease rates thanks both to improvements in treatment and healthier lifestyle choices, such as fewer people smoking.

“However, we have also seen worrying increases in obesity levels and type 2 diabetes, and there is much more that we could achieve to improve population diets and physical activity levels,” said Dr Peter Scarborough, the report’s lead author.

The Richmond Group issued 12-point plan to accompany the new study, which it funded and was undertaken by the BHF’s centre on population approaches for non-communicable disease prevention, into how the WHO’s goals can be achieved.

The group, which also includes Age UK and Macmillan Cancer Support, is also calling for rises in the cost of cheap, high-strength alcohol and a ban on foods high in fat, salt or sugar being advertised on television before the 9pm watershed.

Dr Alison Tedstone, the chief nutritionist at Public Health England, said: “What we see on the street, in our shops and in the media encourages us to consume too many calories which leads to weight gain. This is why our evidence review on how to help people cut down on sugar proposes controls on marketing, advertising and promotions of high sugar products and reducing the sugar in food and drink.”

The Food and Drink Federation said firms had a “proud record” of voluntarily reformulating products to make them healthier, providing nutritional information and reducing portion sizes.

Tim Rycroft, its corporate affairs director, said: “Obesity occurs when too many calories are consumed and not enough are used being physically active. That’s why lots of food and drink companies support British sport, from grassroots initiatives in their communities and workforce to national competitions.

“At a time when public health budgets are shrinking, restricting sports sponsorship from food and drink companies would result in less physical activity in the UK, not more.”

Prof Russell Viner, the officer for health promotion at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, backed the call for mandatory reformulation and smaller portion sizes.

“We would also like to see pregnant women supported to maintain a healthy weight before and during pregnancy in addition to giving up alcohol and smoking. A mother’s actions during this period have a huge impact on their unborn baby,” he said.

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jun/07/force-food-firms-to-reduce-salt-and-sugar-content-charities-urge