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Jeremy Hunt has challenged Tory leadership rival Boris Johnson to explain his plan for tackling obesity rather than just offer a "populist" pledge to halt "sin taxes" on salty, sugary and fatty foods.

The foreign secretary, who was previously the longest-serving health secretary in NHS history, claimed he was "totally confused" by Mr Johnson's policy on the issue.

Mr Johnson, who is widely expected to beat Mr Hunt and be named Theresa May's successor as prime minister, has announced plans to halt the roll-out of so-called "sin taxes" until the conclusion of a "comprehensive review" into their effectiveness.

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He cited a proposed extension of the current sugar tax to include sugary milk drinks as the basis for his policy announcement.

However, there was uncertainty over the Johnson campaign's pledge after Sky News saw plans recently circulated to fellow cabinet ministers by Matt Hancock, the current health secretary.

In the document, Mr Hancock - a key supporter of Mr Johnson's leadership bid - vowed to extend the sugar tax to milky drinks if the industry does not make progress, while it also proposed a ban on the sale of energy drinks to under-16s.

Mr Hunt said: "I'm totally confused about what Boris's policy is on this because he's saying he doesn't want these 'sin taxes'.

"But he's got Matt Hancock, the health secretary, on his team who strongly supports them. So I think consistency really does matter.

"We have an obesity epidemic, we have the second highest number of obese young people anywhere in Europe and we do need to have a solution to this.

"So the people who want to scrap these taxes need to say what is their plan."

Mr Hunt added that young people with obesity were facing "a really bad start to their life", explaining: "So that's why you have to have a solution, not just be populist in terms of the taxes you want to cut."

However, Mr Johnson defended his proposal as he suggested obesity is "probably now our number one public health challenge".

"It costs the NHS absolutely billions - we've got to deal with obesity," he said.

"But we've got to do it in a way that is evidence-based.

"What I want to see is evidence, actual evidence, that new taxes on this or that item of food and taxes which fall disproportionately on poorer families actually stop people from being so fat.

"You've got to make sure it's discouraging people from consuming what they're doing or whether it's a bit of a gesture."

Mr Johnson claimed it was "ambiguous" whether sin taxes "actually reduce consumption and help people with their obesity".

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Mr Hancock also told Sky News he would "strongly" support an "evidence-based review into how these taxes are working".

Noting Mr Johnson's recent personal weight loss, the health secretary added: "Boris himself is a great example of how we can all get fit and svelte without the need for the nanny state by getting on and doing more exercise and cycling to work."

But Mr Hancock's own department suggested there was evidence to point to the success of the current levy on sugary drinks, announced in 2016 and introduced last year, in reducing sugar consumption.

A Department for Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "We have seen some important successes since the publication of the 2016 childhood obesity plan, including over half of all drinks in scope of the soft drinks industry levy being reformulated - the equivalent of removing 45 million kg of sugar every year.

"Our policies on obesity and public health have always been by evidence and will continue to be in the future."

Steve Brine, a former public health minister who oversaw the introduction of the sugary drinks levy, accused Mr Johnson of "transparent dog whistle politics dressed up as something thinking".

He told Sky News the tax was a "remarkably successful piece of policy-making" and that it was "completely wrong" for Mr Johnson to criticise the impact of such levies on lower earners.

He said: "That's not the point of the sugar tax.

"The sugar tax was paid by manufacturers and they could either then add that to the cost of their products or they could reformulate.

"And guess what they decided to do? They decided to do the right thing and they decided to reformulate."

He also delivered a threat to rebel in parliament against any potential changes to the sugar tax, saying: "My message to him [Mr Johnson] and his team is: 'I'll see you in the House of Commons'."

Mr Johnson's announcement came on the same day Cancer Research UK warned obesity now causes more cases of four common cancers than smoking.

The charity's chief executive Michelle Mitchell said: "Taxes on less healthy products do have a positive effect.

"They have been highly effective in bringing down smoking rates to record lows, including within deprived communities, and the Treasury's own analysis showed the tax on sugary drinks took 90 million kg of sugar out of the nation's diet on day one.

"Physical activity is one way to lose weight but the government also has a big role to play if we are to significantly reduce obesity levels."

Further questions about Mr Johnson's position were raised when it emerged he personally introduced a levy on sugary soft drinks at City Hall in 2016 when he was London mayor.

At the time, Mr Johnson described tackling obesity as "one of the biggest" health challenges, adding: "I hope this initiative will allow us to raise awareness of the problem and encourage people to think about their diets."

A few months earlier, in 2015, Mr Johnson told NHS leaders that "overwhelmingly the people who will be most affected by an obesity problem will be those on the lowest incomes".

"That's why I'm thinking about sugar taxes and whether London should be leading on that," he added.