“There was uproar amongst the chattering classes in the middle of August as the Department of Health slipped out a very watered down version of the Childhood Obesity Strategy. What had been hailed as one of the most important pieces of legislation by the previous Prime Minister Mr Cameron had effectively been sidelined by the new incumbent Mrs May. But what’s the issue? Why should it take a Government and legislation to bring the current epidemic of childhood obesity under control? Why can’t people just eat properly and exercise enough to work off the calories they have consumed? The first answer that nearly always tops the pile is ‘it’s too expensive to eat healthily’. Poppycock. It’s cheaper to buy fresh food and prepare it yourself than pay for the privilege of someone else preparing it and half cooking it. So if it’s not price what is it? Laziness, lack of awareness, lack of time, a lack of understanding what calories are being consumed and how much is being burnt off? Or a combination of any or all of these? …
“Using the ‘steps needed’ calculation, a daily diet of breakfast cereals, ready made lasagne for lunch, sandwich for tea, a few treats through the day and a can of coke and the number of steps to work it off is over 11,000. Quite a task if the child is confined to the house. The answer to this predicament is simple. Achieving it isn’t. There has to be a wholesale change in how and what we feed our children combined with a concerted effort to get them to be more active. Getting our children involved with preparing fresh food at home and becoming more active would be a great place to start. It really doesn’t matter whether food is organic, nonorganic, in season or travels half way around the world before arriving on their plates. They are refinements for the future. What is important now is that they eat something better than a ‘ping’ meal smothered in sauce laden with preservatives and calories. “