Grace Hetherington

10-Year Health Plan: will it shift the dial on preventing ill health? We’ll discuss how the 10-Year Health Plan could help put a spotlight on prevention, and what the measures within it might deliver.

EVENT

Will the 10 Year Health Plan shift the dial on prevention?

Join the discussion with Nesta's Hugo Harper, @katfoodjenner.bsky.social @jimdickson.bsky.social @laurenbowesbyatt.bsky.social @davidjbuck.bsky.social tomorrow lunchtime.

www.nesta.org.uk/event/10-yea...

Action to tackle obesity in the 10-Year Health Plan can't come soon enough.

@nestauk.bsky.social's latest analysis outlines that obesity and excess weight cost the UK economy ~£31bn in lost productivity.

www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Excited to see! It's not everyday you help get a policy over the line...

Government has adopted healthy food standard - based on a policy developed by Nesta. It'll see food businesses encouraged to get healthier food on our shelves and in our diets.

Read more👉https://tinyurl.com/43fnpcm5

The healthy food standard is a win for the nation’s health The UK government has announced a healthy food standard to improve the healthiness of the food we buy. Here’s why we think it’s a good idea.

There is still lots of detail to get right.

The measure must be mandatory: supermarkets have voluntary targets already, and they aren't driving the changes needed.

And it needs to use the right measure to incentivise meaningful change.

Read more in Nesta's blog: www.nesta.org.uk/blog/the-hea...

The Health Secretary has just announced a new policy designed by @nestauk.bsky.social that could cut obesity by a fifth.

As the food that surrounds us has got worse over time, obesity rates have crept up.

If we work with supermarkets to make food a little bit healthier, we can reverse this trend.

It's weird how giving people more money makes them better off and less likely to be in poverty.

Want to understand what the 1-metre rule for heat pumps is all about, and what scrapping it means?

Colleagues at @nestauk.bsky.social are on hand - check out our latest beautiful explainer:

It's a pretty dismal reflection on our politics that a policy as bad as the two child limit was introduced in the first place and has survived for a decade.

Especially once it became clear it was having no impact on family size (which was the only flimsy policy justification).

No 10 delays child poverty strategy with tens of thousands more facing hardship Exclusive: Flagship policy put back until at least autumn amid fears cost of scrapping two-child limit will outweigh political benefit

Magical thinking latest: that you can have an effective child poverty strategy while leaving the big lever marked 'this lever guarantees child poverty' untouched.

Fiscal nerds rejoice: you can now be the Chancellor (for a day at least) in this very cool* tax tool from Nesta and IFS.

Which tax and spend choices would you make?

*I have worked in policy for too long

We are really excited to be hiring a Head of Media at @neonuk.bsky.social . If you are someone who knows how to land priogressive stories and spokespeople in the media and want to be part of a really great team, please check it out: www.neweconomyorganisers.org/about-jobs/h...

Weight loss drugs are becoming the nanny statist’s worst nightmare Why would people who support policies that do not work be so resistant to medications that do?

A recent Telegraph article has stated that @nestauk.bsky.social would prefer the Government to focus on reformulating food, reducing junk food advertising and shifting price promotions towards healthier foods over the use of weight-loss drugs: bit.ly/3YP1IIW

But that’s not quite true ⬇️

More exciting vacancies at Nesta 👇🏼

Jobs We are always looking to work with a diverse range of talent. Browse current job vacancies at Nesta and from our partners

Hi BlueSky, we're looking for 3 policy comms leads (health, net zero, early years). @nestauk.bsky.social. Very open-minded on background. Drop me a line if you want to chat www.nesta.org.uk/jobs/

We buy 88% of our calories from supermarkets, making them critical partners when it comes to improving our diets.

Check out @nestauk.bsky.social's latest analysis which shows which small changes to our weekly shop could, over time, bring down obesity rates.

New analysis by @nestauk.bsky.social reveals official data is significantly underestimating the no of people from minoritised ethnic backgrounds living with excess weight.

Any government serious about tackling health inequalities needs a plan to reduce obesity.

www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

New analysis by @nestauk.bsky.social reveals official data is significantly underestimating the no of people from minoritised ethnic backgrounds living with excess weight.

Any government serious about tackling health inequalities needs a plan to reduce obesity.

www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

🥤 The sugar tax has been a huge success, incentivising manufacturers to reduce the sugar content of their products.

Expanding it to more high-sugar drinks is a sensible next step. Here's @nestauk.bsky.social's take on the impact it could have:

blueprint.nesta.org.uk/intervention...

Nourishing Britain: a political manual for improving the nation’s health Henry Dimbleby and Dr Dolly van Tulleken draw on interviews with former prime ministers and other key figures to offer practical advice and insights on how today’s politicians can tackle the UK’s obes...

Even though the public consistently back more interventionist measures on health, politicians are held back by fear of 'nanny state' accusations.

See @nestauk.bsky.social report by @dollyvantulleken.bsky.social and @henrydimbleby.bsky.social on how to get round this
www.nesta.org.uk/report/nouri...

Some fascinating findings in this @ippr.bsky.social report.

🍟🍫People feel the food and drink industry (84%) has greater responsibility for health outcomes than the NHS (79%)

🍏🥕People don't want a ban on unhealthy food, but to de-normalise unhealthy choices

Why do the early years matter so much for later life? Early brain development, combined with cascading developmental effects, mean experiences in childhood profoundly shape long-term outcomes

👶Why do the early years matter so much for later life? Fascinating (and beautiful) explainer on how our brains develop, how early life experiences can have cascade effects and why it is so important to support every child to have the best start in life.

www.nesta.org.uk/feature/why-...

I've really loved coming to work at Nesta. Partly because it made me check my ways of working and getting 'stuff' done, after time in govt. Being more creative to problem solving.

Our work fast & iterate approach is key... Read more about that below 👇

The debate around UPF has driven welcome consumer awareness of the unhealthiness of the food that's marketed and promoted to us everyday.

A new report from @nestauk.bsky.social asks: should we regulate UPF?

TL;DR - no. Most unhealthy UPF is already captured in existing legislation.

Jobs We are always looking to work with a diverse range of talent. Browse current job vacancies at Nesta and from our partners

Are you looking for your next job role? Our current vacancies could be the right fit for you ⤵️

📊 Group Data Journalist
🗞️ Group Media Officer
📈 Junior Data Engineer
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Head of Nesta Cymru

Find out more and apply on our website: www.nesta.org.uk/jobs/

With so much pressure on household budgets, what can we do to make healthy food more affordable?

Some thoughts from colleagues Jonathan Bone and John Barber in Nesta's latest blog 👇

Junk food ban: The 'unhealthy' foods restricted in Welsh shops Plans to restrict a list of foods classed as unhealthy in shops are approved by 25 votes to 24.

The Welsh Senedd has voted to restrict the promotion of unhealthy food items in certain ways in Wales - a positive step towards improving health.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 In our calls for the 2026-2030 Senedd, we set out opportunities to go further to take action and reduce obesity ↪️ bit.ly/3EnXaS9

Cuts have ‘huge implications for hardship’ says charity Katie Schmuecker is from anti-poverty charity the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

🗣️ "At the moment, the risks of the world changing are being borne by disabled people, some of the most vulnerable and marginalized in our society."

@katieschmuecker.bsky.social discusses the impact of disability benefit cuts on @channel4news.bsky.social last night.

www.channel4.com/news/cuts-ha...

A huge loss for JRF but so excited to see you take your next step! Congrats 🥳

Creating Nesta’s blueprint for halving obesity - learnings from academia and policy Adapting research methods for policy impact can translate complex data into clear, actionable solutions for policymakers

Last year we published a blueprint for halving obesity in the UK - drawing upon a huge evidence base & synthesising research to make useful and accurate policy recommendations.

Nesta's Kate Tudor reflects on the challenges of balancing rigorous methodology with the need to create real-world impact.

Great to be collaborating with my former employer @shareaction.bsky.social!

@nestauk.bsky.social is working with ShareAction to drive investor action on health and nutrition.

Their latest briefing sets out how investors can engage with out-of-home food outlets to improve health 🍕🌮🌭🧃