A backbench Labour MP has launched her bid to tackle the problem of childhood obesity.

Debra Shipley's private member's bill, the Children's Food Bill, would require the Food Standards Agency to specify the criteria for healthy and unhealthy foods, which would then be used to ban the marketing of unhealthy foods at children and the availability of the products in school vending machines.

In addition, new regulations would be imposed to ensure improvements in the quality of school meals.

The Stourbridge MP introduced a similar bill last year - which would have prevented the marketing of food and drinks high in salt, sugar or fat - but it ran out of parliamentary time.

"Obesity has doubled in six-year olds and trebled among 15-year olds over a 10-year period," she said.

"As a consequence, adult-onset diabetes is now being seen in school children.

"It is not surprising that the chief medical officer has described the problem as a 'public health timebomb' that needs to be defused.

"It is no longer good enough to hold consultations, produce reviews and call on the industry to mend its ways.  Action is urgently needed.

"This Bill will bring forward a wide range of measures to tackle the childhood obesity epidemic and improve children's diet-related health."

Shipley's bill has been drafted alongside Sustain, the food and farming alliance.

"As huge profits are at stake, calls for the junk food industry to act voluntarily are simply naive," said project manager Charlie Powell.

"Our coalition of 114 national organisations recognises that statutory measures to improve children's diets are urgently needed."