The UK government published its report Childhood Obesity: a Plan for Action, after a protracted delay, on 18 August 2016, when parliament was in recess and the nation was focused on the success of Team GB at the Rio Olympics.1 The plan received very little media coverage or public response. There was, however, an immediate outcry from the medical and public health communities, who had hoped for much more.23456 The draft version had been 50 pages in length, but the published plan ran to just 10 pages; strong actions were conspicuous by their absence, and the desired discussion of anti-obesogenic medicine had been watered down to an emphasis on voluntary actions by industry, consumers, and schools.

One of the most important omissions was reference to the recommendations of the World Health Organization Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity (ECHO).7 The final ECHO report, published in January 2016, was the culmination of about 18 months of evidence review and wide consultation. It was presented at the World Health Assembly in May 2016,8 where a decision was made to request the director general to develop an implementation plan to guide further action on the recommendations, in consultation with member states. The implementation report is now available.