The British Heart Foundation (BHF) cautioned that a pack-a-day crisp habit is prevalent among 55% of the British children and are consuming the equivalent of five litres of cooking oil annually
The British Heart Foundation (BHF) cautioned that a pack-a-day crisp habit is prevalent among 55% of the British children and are consuming the equivalent of five litres of cooking oil annually.
The BHF started a campaign to create awareness among people about the amount of hidden salt, fat and sugar in common foods and the figures were releases as a part of it. '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,' said Professor Peter Weissberg, medical director of the charity.12.5 teaspoons of oil is present in a common 35 gm (1.2 ounce) packet of crisps. The BHF survey was conducted on 1,153 children of the age group 8-15. An average of 49% of them had at least one pack of crisps a day. The percentages were 60 in Scotland, 30 in London and 50 in Wales. 1 in 5 of them had crisps twice a day or more.
'Britons' taste for them is so strong that as a nation they consume a tonne of crisps every three minutes, enough to fill an Olympic size swimming pool every 14 hours, ' the BHF said, referring to a Mintel report.
'The BHF believes having a daily dose of such a high-fat, nutritionally poor product is a threat to children's long-term health,' said Weissberg in a statement. 'Daily unhealthy snacking is a worrying habit,' he added. 'Rising rates of childhood obesity and cases of type 2 diabetes paint a particularly grim picture for the future.'
Source-Medindia
GYT
