SUGARY drinks would be barred from sports centres and other Council buildings, under a crackdown suggested by the authority’s Liberal Democrats.

Schools would be advised to stock only water, while shops would be encouraged to cut back on selling fizzy pop near schools, under a motion due to be discussed at a Full Council meeting next week.

Councillor Alun Griffiths (Lib Dem, Idle and Thackley) who works as a local GP, put forward the idea.

He said he had recently realised that for the first time in his 32-year career as a GP, he was now “more worried about obesity than I am about smoking”.

Cllr Griffiths said the issue was “a huge timebomb” which would lead to many more cases of type two diabetes, heart disease, arthritis and other conditions.

He said he had been alarmed to hear that around a fifth of local children starting school were either overweight or obese, rising to a third by the time they left primary school, and thought schools should address this.

He said: “We can’t compel them to do any of this but we can certainly put the moral pressure on.”

And Cllr Griffiths said a new scores-on-the-doors scheme could rate shops near schools to encourage them to sell sugary products in a more responsible way.

Councillor Val Slater, deputy leader of the Council and executive member for health, leads a new Healthy Weight Board set up to tackle obesity.

She said she was happy to put Cllr Griffiths’ ideas to the board, but said decisions about drinks in schools were a matter for their governing bodies.

And she said a new scores-on-the-doors scheme for shops would cost money to implement, which could make it a non-starter.

She said: “Unfortunately, in our budget consultations, we are suggesting withdrawing from things like the Ministry of Food and that is purely on the grounds that we no longer have the cash.”

Councillor Simon Cooke, leader of the Conservative group, said he didn’t think it was “any of our business” to decide what drinks parents could feed their children.

He said if Bradford Council was concerned about levels of obesity, which he said were “plateauing” anyway, they should look to do more educational work instead.

The meeting will be held on Tuesday at City Hall.

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