Oliver warns of obesity ‘horror show’ in Britain
He said: “The obesity problem is an epidemic, it’s a massive problem. If we don’t deal with it in the next 10 years, it’s going to be 10 times harder to fix, and it will be a horror show.”
He was speaking at a news conference after addressing a parliamentary inquiry into health inequalities at which he warned Britain was facing a “new kind of poverty” he had “never seen before”, where many parents were unable to nourish their families — not through lack of money but lack of knowledge.
He demanded to know why there was not a “minister for food”, someone from the private sector who was all over the problem “like a rash” and could drive the response for the next 10 years.
“We are not in a great place, but we are in a place from which it can be fixed,” he told the committee.
“If we leave it, it will be like America, where it is almost not worth it, because it’s so ingrained.”
At the news conference he said he would turn down any invitation to be “minister for food”, because he could do more “on the outside”, but he would be happy to find someone fit for the job.
His wide-ranging evidence to the committee included an attack on the EU over labelling of food, criticism of the detail of plans for teaching children how to cook in schools, and a suggestion that women used to hold knowledge about nutrition that was now missing since they went to work.
He also said he agreed with legislation in California to cap the number of fast food outlets in an area.
Oliver told the House of Commons Health Committee: “Health, obesity and education has struggled to be taken seriously for 10 years, but I think it’s a bloody emergency.’
He warned of an “incredibly profound” crisis caused by poor nutrition.
While, in previous recessions, people were able to switch to cheaper foods and still serve up tasty and nutritious meals, Britain was going into a downturn with most of the population unable to make savings because they could not cook.
The £650 million (€806m) provided by the government to improve school dinners was welcome but “nowhere near a dramatic enough amount of money”.
He said: “It is a poverty of being able to nourish their family, in any class.
“It directly runs with the outrageous obesity that is happening now... and it is getting worse and worse.”
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