Junk Food Lovers 'Drowning In Oil and Sugar'
First Published in the Western Mail| on September 22nd 2006 and written by Madeleine Brindley.
Half of Welsh children are "drinking" almost five litres of cooking oil every year as a result of their pack-a-day crisp habit.
And a worrying one in five are consuming at least nine litres of cooking oil a year by eating two packets of crisps or more a day.
The shocking figures from the British Heart Foundation reveal the extent to which children have become dependent on junk foods, despite the current high-profile campaigns to reform children's eating habits and school meals.
Experts say the findings reveal that Wales is a nation "drowning in excess oil, salt and sugar".
And Health Minister Dr Brian Gibbons said it was vital that urgent action is taken in a bid to reverse the growing obesity epidemic fuelled by poor diets.
The British Heart Foundation survey, released today as the charity launches the second phase of its Food4Thought campaign, reveals that crisps have become an integral part of the daily diet of eight to 15-year-olds in Wales.
But a typical 35g bag of crisps contains about two-and-a-half teaspoons of oil - with the figure going up to three-and-a-half teaspoons for a larger 50g pack.
Professor Peter Weissberg, medical director of the British Heart Foundation, said, "The BHF believes having a daily dose of such a high-fat, nutritionally poor product is a threat to children's long-term health.
"Daily unhealthy snacking is a worrying habit. Rising rates of childhood obesity and cases of type 2 diabetes paint a particularly grim picture for the future.
"This campaign is about challenging our children, alerting them to what is lurking in their snacks, takeaways and ready meals.
"It's about making these foods the exception rather than the rule."
The latest Mintel report exposes the UK's obsession with snacking, revealing that a tonne of crisps is eaten every three minutes.
This is sufficient to fill a telephone box every 43 seconds and an Olympic-size swimming pool every 14 hours.
But the pack-a-day crisp habit is just one example of an overall poor nutritional habit.
Prof Weissberg said, "I am concerned we are a nation drowning in excess oil, salt and sugar as we and our children continue to ignore the warnings and consume excessive amounts of unhealthy foods.
"Crisps are just the tip of the iceberg. If you consider all the other unhealthy foods our kids are consuming, the fat just continues to pile up.
"The BHF is determined to expose the truth lurking within these foods and to help children and parents make healthier choices."
The Food4Thought campaign aims to expose the hidden salt, fat and sugar lurking in common foods, so children can better understand the potential damage it is doing to their hearts and health.
An advertisement featuring a young girl drinking from a bottle of cooking oil with the caption "What goes into crisps goes into you", will spearhead the campaign.
Teaching resources in the shape of over-sized burger boxes will also be sent to hundreds of schools across Wales.
The British Heart Foundation also wants a ban on the marketing of junk food products to children, particularly on television and the internet and for cooking skills to be a compulsory part of schooling across the UK.
Health minister Dr Brian Gibbons said, "Apart from the cost in human misery, treating the medical consequences of obesity, such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease, is significant.
"It is therefore vital that we take action now to ensure the future health of our children and I commend the British Heart Foundation for this hands-on and visual approach to raise awareness of poor nutrition.
"The Welsh Assembly Government is committed to combating this preventable condition and in June this year we launched the action plan, Food and Fitness, promoting health eating and physical activity for children and young people in Wales."
The worrying state of children's diets and lifestyles
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Half of children in Wales eat a packet of crisps every day
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One in five Welsh children eat two packets of crisps a day
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Almost three quarters of mothers feed their children ready meals or takeaways more than three times a week
In a 2004 report, only 13% of boys and 12% of girls reported eating the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables daily, and 10% reported eating no portions of fruit or vegetables in the previous day.
Almost a third of 15 to 16-year-old girls and one in five boys smokes regularly 58% of 15 and 16-year-old boys and 50% of girls drink alcohol every week