Half of UK children
"drink" almost five litres of cooking oil
every year as a result of their pack-a-day
crisp habit, experts warn.
Nearly a fifth of children
eat two packets of crisps per day, says the
British Heart Foundation.
Its Food4Thought campaign
aims to expose hidden salt, fat and sugar
in common foods.
Pictures of a girl drinking
cooking oil with the caption "What goes into
crisps goes into you" will appear nationwide.
But the campaign has been
criticised as "scare tactics", by the food
industry body.
And the Snacks, Nuts and
Crisps Manufacturers Association claims the
BHF "over-estimated" the oil content by basing
its calculations on large crisp packets.
A typical 35g bag of crisps
contains about two-and-a-half teaspoons of
oil.
A larger 50g pack contains
three-and-a-half.
Figures from Mintel reveal
that we eat a tonne of crisps every three
minutes in the UK.
This would be enough to fill
a telephone box every 43 seconds and an Olympic
size swimming pool every 14 hours.
Another recent survey found
nearly three quarters of mothers said they
fed their children ready meals or takeaways
more than three times a week.
By 2020, it is thought that
a quarter of UK children will be overweight.
BHF is calling for a ban
on the marketing of junk food products to
children, particularly on the TV and the internet.
It also says cooking skills
should be a compulsory part of schooling.
BHF medical director Professor
Peter Weissberg said: "Daily unhealthy snacking
is a worrying habit.
"Rising rates of childhood
obesity and type 2 diabetes paint a particularly
grim picture for the future.
"The campaign is about challenging
our children about what's lurking in their
snacks, takeaways and ready meals."
Ambassadors
Teaching resources in the
shape of over-sized burger boxes will be sent
to 2,500 UK schools. Student packs will be
delivered to 400,000 children later this year.
More than 200 schoolchildren
have volunteered to become BHF Young Ambassadors,
who will be lobbying their schools, MPs and
local media.
A Department of Health spokesperson
said: "Government is committed to halting
the rise of childhood obesity but we cannot
do it on our own.
"Ofcom recently consulted
on restricting food advertising to children
and we await the outcome of that consultation.
"We are working with the
food manufacturers and retailers to reduce
fat, salt and sugar in their foods and to
provide clear labelling."
Neil Campbell, general manager
for Walkers, said: "We wholeheartedly agree
that people should avoid products that are
high in saturated fat, which is why we invested
millions of pounds in developing Sunseed oil,
one of the healthiest oils there is.
"We introduced Sunseed oil
in February this year, resulting in a 70%
reduction in the saturated fat content of
Walkers Crisps."
Julian Hunt of the Food and
Drink Federation said: "One of the great things
about our industry is that we strive to give
consumers genuine choice, whether it is a
better for you version or a completely reformulated
standard product."
