Dame Prue Leith has labelled food portion sizes “ridiculous” as she blamed obesity rates among children on our reliance on processed food.
The Great British Bake Off judge, 85, said that the only way to address the problem was to teach children “love healthy food” through showing them how to cook nutritious meals.
She told The Sun: “The obesity rates in children are alarming and getting worse with almost a third regarded as obese or overweight.”
“I’ve been saying for 60 years that we start addressing this by teaching children to love healthy food – and the way to do this is to teach them how to cook.
She added: “If we fed our children healthy, non-processed food, we wouldn’t have this problem with obesity.”
In 2024, the NHS reported that 15 per cent of children aged between two and 10 in England were obese, and 19 per cent in those aged between 11 and 15.
Meanwhile, it showed that 64 per cent of adults were overweight or obese in 2022, including 29 per cent who were obese, with more men (67 per cent) classified as overweight or obese than women (61 per cent).
Leith pointed to Japan’s eating culture, where the childhood obesity rates are the lowest globally. According to the World Obesity Federation data, 1.6 per cent of girls and 6.2 per cent of boys are obese.
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She explained: “Look at Japan. Obviously, they’re doing something we’re not. Children in Japanese schools sit down to a free meal every single day, and it’s healthy.
“Nothing that’s processed is allowed into a school kitchen. Everything has to be made on that day with fresh ingredients.
“Right from an early age, a whole nation is being taught how and what to eat,” said Leith.
She praised Japan for having stricter “rules” about what is sold in supermarkets, but criticised the UK government for thinking about taxation on food.
“Our government just looks at the amount of tax raised from chocolate, fast food and the like, and thinks: ‘We can’t afford to do that’. But the government must look more long term.’”
She said that she wished people would “eat less” because she believes portion sizes have become “ridiculous”.
Leith said that she thinks people eat “too much” due to unhappiness and emotional eating habits.
“I think this is partly due to unhappiness. When we’re not happy, we comfort eat. It’s true that when you’re miserable, you go straight to the fridge or want chocolate.”
The NHS has found that obesity prevalence was highest among adults and children living in the most deprived areas.
In England, the health service typically spends £6.5bn a year on treating obesity-related health conditions.