Chef's plea over childhood obesity

Celebrity chef Neven Maguire today urged schools to do more to tackle childhood obesity by cutting the amount of junk food youngsters can get.

Following the example of "pukka" chef Jamie Oliver, the award-winning Mr Maguire called on parents and schools to teach children the value of nutrition and encourage them to cook simple, healthy dishes.

Mr Maguire said he was aware of several schools removing fizzy drinks from vending machines over the summer but warned more needed to be done.

“Although many teachers and parents are beginning to wake up to the dangers of obesity in childhood and to the importance of getting children into the habit of healthy eating and learning to do some cooking themselves, a lot more needs to be done,” he said.

Mr Maguire of the MacNean House and Restaurant, Blacklion, Co Cavan warned that while improvements have been made in the United Kingdom following Jamie Oliver’s campaign Irish schools were lagging behind.

He also accused parents of neglecting their responsibilities to encourage healthy eating both in school and in the home.

“My parents were passionately interested in good quality ingredients cooked properly so from an early age I learned to appreciate taste and know about the ingredients and nutritional values of food,” the chef said.

“Today many children skip breakfast and then fill up from a vending machine or at the corner shop with all the wrong foods.”

The prevalence of overweight and obesity has been described by the World Health Organisation as a global epidemic. In Ireland currently 39% of the adult population is overweight, 18% being diagnosed as obese.

The Report of the National Taskforce on Obesity 2005 revealed that childhood obesity has reached epidemic propositions in Europe and while there are no official figures from Ireland, recent studies suggest the number of children who are significantly overweight has trebled in the past decade.

Mr Maguire said: “I am delighted that schools are starting to take nutrition more seriously. I see this from my work with Agri-Aware visiting schools throughout Ireland.

“If children learn a bit about food and how to cook the interest will stay with them. There are lots of easy recipes that can make fruit and vegetables more attractive and the smoothies they want more nutritious.”