I cannot remember seeing many people overweight in the hospitals I have been to, neither did I see many overweight people at a care home where a dear neighbour of ours was at.
But, overweight people there are everywhere (including our PM and other influential people) and am not too sure why NHS staff have been singled out particularly.
But it is true that low earnings, as in the case of the lower echelons in the NHS, are highly relevant to this problem, as are the addictive sugar, salt and fat. Just look at USA and the food there is laced with sugar, maple syrup and golden syrup together with a very high content of fat and salt.
I still have a clear picture of a programme Michel Roux was presenting and one of the guests indicated if you have £0.30 to spend, a packet of biscuits would fill you up while an apple would not. It is also true that, if you are hungry, food at sandwich shops (even hospital canteens) will start at £3.99 while at McDonald, full of fat and sugar, start at £1.99.
Understanding food starts at home and school curricula should help. Lack of interest in cooking is one problem and lack of time is just as important. But lack of money is fundamental. A nurse I met once told me some 15 years ago that feeding a family of 4 on £0.50 a day was not easy, so they eat lots of potatoes and pasta, of course, with butter and cheese.
And I agree with Elizabeth, during rationing people were really slim. Perhaps we should revisit the recipes created at that time. It would be interesting to see how much they would cost. But, as far as I am concerned, porridge is off!
Ivonne Holliday ● 1368d