Recommendation 10

We echo the call of our witness Professor Sandeep Ranote for the creation of a national public health strategy akin to the 1970s ‘Green Cross Code’. A ‘Screen Cross Code’ would be a nationwide public health campaign, which would use short effective messages to educate the public on best practice with screen use for children and young people, as well as the potential negative health impacts resulting from excessive screen use or exposure to content that may lead to body dissatisfaction. This should include limits on daily screen use, promotion of social media sabbaticals, having digital sunrises/sunsets, as well as prompts to encourage discussion between parents and their children if there is content that could cause concern relating to body image and self-esteem. We recommend that the Department of Health and Social Care plays a leading role, in collaboration with the Department for Education and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, in this work, given its implications for young people’s health. (Paragraph 69) The impact of body image on mental and physical health 35 Body image and experience of healthcare services