To think we need more back to basics education about food, cooking, etc

[Notcontent]

Just this morning I was reading yet another article about doctors calling on the government to tackle rising childhood obesity. It's obviously a serious and growing problem. Yes, in some cases medical issues or genetics may play a part, but for the most part it's to do with the food we are consuming.

My view is that while things like the sugar tax, etc. are a step forward, ultimately it's about people understanding what might be a healthy breakfast, etc. I think that unless something changes, we are heading for disaster in terms of diabetes, etc.

Education is key. Also educating through providing healthy meals at school rather then cheap carb based mains/puddings.

Most people know what healthy meals look like don't they? It's time pressure and financial pressure that often get in the way of eating better for a lot of us.

I think and have thought for a long time, whilst many say it is a parents job to educate their children on the essentials of life, many would benefit from being taught about banking, cooking basics, how to wash and iron, why you should try and maintain a home to decent standards, basic facts of life and so on.

Yanbu. Current education on health, food etc is woeful. Children refusing to eat cheese but happily munching go ahead bars because school deems the latter healthy the former not so.

Additionally there's no awareness of budgeting, banking, common sense etc.

Sugar tax is bollocks.
But yes education is key along with information about how much sugar is in food etc. Better awareness and labelling as not a lot of people have the time or inclination to read the "small print" ,then figure out how much they use and what it means. I argued with an ex friend for ages that ketchup has sugar in it. She just wouldn't believe it.

I was looking at Ocado today, many claim to spent in the region of £100+ on food. They have an offer where you get not only £30 off your order but free delivery.

I can't imagine what financial constraints mean you have to eat / feed your children junk.

I believe you can shop wisely for half of that, for £50 for 4 persons and provide balanced meals.

Purple you'd think so wouldn't you! But then if you watch any of the hideous 'benefits' programmes, a lot of people genuinely don't seem to realise that it's something they can prepare/eat themselves.
I think life skills are definitely lacking for lots of people. including me I'm a shit cook

purple - no I don't think many people do.

my mum used to teach 16 year olds. They were training to do child care (and so may well be responsible for feeding the children in their care)

She regularly had to talk to them about food. eg, girl feeling faint and sick at 11 am. Wants to go home, mum asks her what has she had to eat today? Nothing. Explains that food is like fuel and if you don't put any in you can't work, and you will feel ill and faint. Sends her off to canteen. She eats something and feels better. The girls had very little clue about food, nutrition etc.
They also drank vast quantities of diet coke in place of food.

These were ordinary 16 year olds.

I can't imagine what financial constraints mean you have to eat / feed your children junk.

I believe you can shop wisely for half of that, for £50 for 4 persons and provide balanced meals.

Ah, one of these. I wondered how long it would take.

If you're really poor, you don't necessarily have access to an oven, cooking facilities or time to cook. You might not be able to afford the electric/gas it takes to cook a "proper" meal. You might not have a car to get to the cheap supermarket/green grocer.

My cookingbis generally healthy but I recognise I'm in a very privileged position compared to many families.

steppe I've been a secondary school teacher too. That's classic behaviour for teen girls trying to control their weight by not eating. It's not necessarily an unawareness of nutrition thing.

I think this is a very complex issue and saying that the reason people choose junk is because of financial and time pressures is not quite true and is not very helpful... Most people do have basic cooking facilities and most can afford basic, staple ingredients. Most people could choose to give their kids an egg or porridge (2 min in microwave) for breakfast - but instead choose to give them bread with nutella, washed down with a fizzy drink. I see lots of threads on mumsnet where people make fun of healthy food - as in, "why would you choose to give your child carrot sticks when they could have a kitkat instead..."

I think this is a very complex issue and saying that the reason people choose junk is because of financial and time pressures is not quite true and is not very helpful...

So it's a complex issue but time pressure and money aren't part of the problem?

I remember a family being interviewed on a Glasgow sink estate years ago. There ahd been a report about the health differences north and south.
The person being interviewed was very articulate and it was an eye opener for me.

He said, of course I know what a healthy meal looks like. But a packet of custard creams costs 30p and and one apple costs the same. I have 4 children, one packet of biscuits fills them up for a snack, to do the same with an apple costs 4 times as much.
There is no supermarket on the estate. You have to pay for a bus to the supermarket and then carry it all home. Fresh veg needs to be bought more often, which means more trips on the bus, which you can't afford.
There is a van/mobile shop which comes round selling stuff. It doesn't sell fres fruit and veg. It does sell large quantities of cheap stuff, baked beans, potatoes, fish fingers and so on. We buy from the mobile shop because it is accessible, and affordable.

Eating a healthy meal is about so much more than knowing how to cook. Access to food, shops, transport, cost of transport, access to cooking facilities, kitchen equipment and so on.

Also, I buy bulk. Special offer 3 for £10? I'll buy it this week and put it in the freezer. Pack of 24 cheaper than pack of 4? I'll buy the big pack and store it. But I have the money to be able to buy bulk, I am not budgeting down the last penny. I have space to store it, and a large freezer to keep things in. I also go to the supermarket in the car, so I cac carry it home. They are not available to many.

PurpleDaisies - but we are not talking about the very poor who may not have cooking facilities - we are talking about the vast majority. We are approaching a stage when being overweight is becoming more normal than not. And even if you don't have cooking facilities, would you not choose to give your child a banana for breakfast rather than a chocolate bar?

purple - I know it is also a weight control issue, but in talking to the girls, my mum was constantly surprised by their lack of knowledge about food and health.

Are you seriously saying people don't know a banana is healthier than a chocolate bar? You have to be able to get to the shops regularly to keep fruit in the bowl because it goes off.

Gawd, yes, Ocado is on every corner, just waiting to deliver

'And even if you don't have cooking facilities, would you not choose to give your child a banana for breakfast rather than a chocolate bar?'

Because that's the root of all obesity, naturally? You can get just as overweight on 'healthy' food if you eat too much of it.

Yes, I am suggesting that some people don't fully appreciate that a chocolate bar or similar is a really bad choice. I live in central London - the place is full of small local shops selling bananas, etc. - yet every mornings I see kids and their parents, and young teens, buying bags of crisps, chocolate bars, etc. for breakfast.

I think you make a good point Notcontent

It is part of our current society that we should treat our kids, and give them nice things.
To say no sweets except on saturday is seen as draconian, and yet we all did that as kids - you got pocket money and went to the corner shop for a pack of sweets. That idea is 'old fashioned' Every time you go to the shops kids get sweets. They get a pack to eat on the way home from school.
I think it is an is an attitude issue about how we approach food and treats and what is perceived as normal.

Expat - I agre with most stuff you say, and I also agree in this case, that you can put on weight from too much healthy food. But heavily processed and sugary food is what has caused our current obesity crisis.

I would have appreciated better education re. cooking at school. We did 'food tech', but it was very random and haphazard. One week we made shortbread and then potato soup and then something else and it was just following a recipe with no real understanding of what we were making to the nutritional value of it. Looking back it would have been so much better to begin with the basics of food and nutrition and build up to be able to cook a range of healthy meals.

Its really complicated. Even teaching your child how to break eggs can be time consuming, makes mess and wastage (how many eggs smashed on the tabletop before they get the hang of tap and crack).

If you're on a budget - time and or money, well you're not going to even start, are you?

YY Donkey People in that situation cant afford the risk of wasted food.

Of course people know that a banana is healthier than a bag of crisps or chocolate bar. They are choosing the things which taste nicer.

The media and schools are packed full of attempts to educate and persuade people to eat more healthily. If education was the answer, we'd be fine. If this was a simple problem to solve, we'd have solved it.