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The government has promised to help parents who are overweight to appreciate the dangers of obesity to themselves and their children.

Launching the next stage of the government’s fight against health inequalities, public health minister Caroline Flint promised to work closely with health, private and voluntary organisations to better understand why people fail to make healthy choices.

“Our initial focus will be obese adults and children,” she said. “We have learnt that often parents who are overweight or obese find it difficult to assess their children’s weight status and appreciate the associated health risks for their children and themselves.

“Parents are not always embracing healthy eating and active lifestyles as it is perceived to be too challenging. We want to support parents to make them feel more able to make the changes that are needed to make a big difference to their own – and their children’s lives.”

A new obesity social marketing strategy targeting these points will be launched next year.