With the eyes of the world upon us for the London 2012 Olympics, Team GB is working hard to do us proud. This is a great opportunity for the rest of the globe to witness all that is good about our country.
From a personal point of view I’m not a massive athletics fan, I’m more of a football diehard, but what the Games has done is highlighted the quality and dedication of Great Britain’s athletes to get the best from themselves pushing their physical and mental limits.
Team GB’s youngest competitor is a 15-year-old gymnast, while the oldest member of the equestrian team, which secured a silver medal, is 51. It’s a reminder to the nation of the need not just for exercise and physical activity regardless of your age, but for increased nutritional consciousness and education for ourselves and our children.
According to the NHS, in 2010 more than a quarter of adults in England were classified as obese. In the same period, around three in 10 boys and girls, aged two to 15, were classified as either overweight or obese. This simply isn’t good enough.
By nutritional consciousness I mean a more widespread understanding and recognition of levels of saturated fat and salt in manufactured foods and the importance of a 5 A DAY-led, balanced, healthy and enjoyable diet.
In a recent report by the BBC fewer than a third of adults and only one in 10 children were eating their recommended 5 A DAY of fruit and vegetables in the UK.
Given the fact that food pricing has never been more competitive than it is now you can walk into one of any of the major supermarkets and purchase a whole range of fresh produce, strawberries or even a bag of grapes for a pound.
There is no excuse for not eating your 5 A DAY when prices are so low. In fact what we currently have is food deflation, which needless to say is incredibly tough for producers. However it’s great for consumers.
Despite debates on the subject, legislation on food labelling remains a hodgepodge and I’m dismayed by the minimum requirement food manufacturers get away with when displaying ingredients on pre-packed, processed foods.
The more we process food the less nutrition it has. So how can a processed product claim to provide nutritional value when it contains the smallest trace of fruit that allows it to be labelled a ‘healthy snack’?
Would it not be better to fill the fruit bowl at home with a regular, fresh, no additives, banana, apple or pear? At such a bargain buy there is no reason why we shouldn’t start eating more healthily. -
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