You can’t have your cake AND eat it
Anastasia De Waal, 9 July 2010
Picture this: glossy, ruby red cherries perched atop a cloudy mess of marshmallow-white whipped cream, enveloping delicate layers of moist, flourless sponge; between which, a rich double-chocolate fondant temptingly oozes into fingertip-sized pools writes Annaliese Briggs.
The caption below this decadent vision reads: ‘Wickedly indulgent desserts sponsor Change4Life*. (*Remember to avoid excessive amounts of sugar and fat to maintain a healthy, balanced diet.)’ All of a sudden, we have a dilemma on our hands.
The Department of Health’s slimlined Change4Life campaign is set to receive an injection of cash from food and alcohol companies in exchange for a ‘non-regulatory approach’. The decision was made in a bid to improve diets and boost levels of physical activity amongst the young by raising the campaign’s profile and playing on the corporate responsibility of supersize-me giants. Legislation outlawing excessively fatty, sugary and salty foods will be scrapped as individuals begin to ‘understand the social responsibility of people having better lifestyles’. Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley, clearly couldn’t resist the local supermarket’s chocolate and cherry gâteau, and I fear neither will we be able to.
Today marks the end of National Childhood Obesity Week and this weekend parents all over the country will breathe a sigh of relief as they pile into the clogged aisles of supermarkets nationwide. Mind-boggled from counting calories all week, they’ll reach for the nearest, cheapest items on the shelves and sling them into their trolleys. When you’re at a patisserie and frozen foods based crossroad and one toddler’s threatening to topple a tower of baked beans whilst another’s gone AWOL, locating the traffic light food label amongst a colourful array of serving suggestions might not be a top priority. This kind of cunning is dubbed ‘subtle marketing’ by major consumer companies, but I like to call it ‘How Andrew Lansley fudged up his career as a health and lifestyle guru’.
In defense of a deal that makes about as much sense as watching Nigella on TV with the sound off, Lansley’s focus on individual responsibility was quickly rebuffed by health campaigners on hearing the link between obesity and inactivity had been over-baked. Researchers at Peninsula Medical School in Plymouth whipped the public into a frenzy by revealing data that suggests inactivity is a symptom of obesity in young children and not strictly a cause, putting healthy diets firmly back into the spotlight.
I hope Lansley, who himself can’t afford to be too generous with his serving of apple pie and cream come Sunday lunch, emerges from a weekend spent comfort eating and heads straight to the local supermarket, preferably under tight time constraints and with only loose change in his pocket. Until fresh produce is cheaper and food is clearly labeled, parents will continue to buy unhealthy food – perhaps not out of ignorance, but out of necessity.