Health secretary Andrew Lansley's "Call for Action" on obesity last week has been widely criticised by experts and consumer groups.

Some pharmacy bodies broadly welcomed the plan, which says that GP practices and community pharmacies will be involved in identifying obese patients, providing brief advice, medical management and onward referral.

But others warned the proposals needed to take a "back seat to some real actions" to tackle the health issue.

The Department of Health's obesity strategy aims to give local authority health and wellbeing boards more responsibility for tackling the issue in the new NHS.

The boards are expected to commission healthcare professionals, including pharmacists, to provide programmes to prevent obesity, such as weight management services for overweight or obese people, and physical activity programmes.

The government strategy also includes plans to persuade high street businesses such as McDonalds to include calorie content information on menus and packets and plans to promote the message that while physical activity is important, reducing calorie intake is also key to weight loss.

The strategy also calls on the public to be more honest about eating and drinking habits. PSNC and independent pharmacy network Alphega both backed the plans.

PSNC head of NHS services Alastair Buxton said pharmacies were well equipped to meet Mr Lansley's call for a holistic approach to combating obesity.

Pharmacists were "ideal" candidates to provide public health interventions among difficult to reach groups, he added. And he said the recently introduced medicine service would put pharmacists on the front line of supporting patients managing diseases linked to obesity.

"Opportunistic advice on healthy living can be offered at all three stages of the new medicine service, contributing to the wellbeing of individuals and the government's prevention agenda," he said

Alphega Pharmacy general manager Sue Moore said it was extremely important that community pharmacy get behind the government strategy, highlighting the weight loss support and healthy heart services provided by some.

However, the strategy has been widely criticised by other experts.

AAH head of marketing services Ajit Malhi said: "For a government strategy group to relay the dictum ‘eat less, exercise more' smacks of belittlement. If pharmacy is to be the frontline of public health and if patients are to be in control of their choices, isn't it time that we heard the government tell us what it is doing to support our patients rather than telling us what we already know?"

The National Obesity Forum was particularly critical of an accompanying document that included daily calorie recommendations – 2,605 daily calories for average men and 2,079 for women.

Forum chairman, Professor David Haslam, called the document "really unhelpful". "It gives out entirely the wrong message.  People are going to think that they can eat that little bit more. If anything, that will add to the obesity problem."