Anne King said being able to afford healthy food was a ‘real issue’ for some people and that Islanders needed to be given more confidence to move away from unhealthy choices.
Her comments come after the States published a report by the Strategic Public Health Unit last month which claimed that Islanders on low incomes were more likely to be overweight or obese.
The Food and Nutrition Strategy also shows that children living in urban areas are twice as likely to be obese or overweight.
A number of recommendations have now been made in the hope of reducing the numbers of overweight people in Jersey, who currently cost the States £42 million per year to support. Plans include introducing a sugar tax, offering free school meals and moving fast-food outlets away from schools.
Mrs King said: ‘I’m not convinced a sugar tax is going to change anything. We need to look at positive actions and provide education, not tax people. Rather than punish people we need to change people’s behaviour.
‘A lot of it is about giving people the confidence to buy healthier food. It’s very easy for people to think that buying the healthier options is going to cost more money. We need to provide viable options for people to know they can achieve these things.’
