Obesity affects learning
Children have been learning about what’s in their food as a chef continues his crusade against childhood obesity, saying it affects pupils’ ability to learn.
Michael Van de Elzen, restaurateur and television chef known for The Food Truck, has written a children’s cookbook called The Good From Scratch Kids Cookbook.
He stopped by Feilding Intermediate on Saturday during an eight-week national roadshow to get kids cooking.
The chef said he wanted to do his part because Ministry of Health figures suggested 12 per cent of children aged between 2 and 14 were obese.
When it came to food, Van de Elzen believed children could teach their parents.
‘‘What I’ve found ... is that often it starts with the next generation. In most cases, if you teach the children, they go home and teach their parents.
‘‘Obesity causes lots of health problems and side-effects but also behavioural issues, such as concentration and sleep [deficiency], which then impacts on learning.’’
The father-of-two has been spurred into action amid worrying statistics and trends.
It wasn’t about reinventing the wheel, but changing some ‘‘Kiwi favourites’’ such as fish’n’chips and pies, and adding a healthy, easy-to-cook twist to them.
‘‘After having two girls, Hazel and Ivy, the reports around child obesity in New Zealand have become increasingly worrying to me. I’m a chef, I want to educate and upskill our Kiwi kids and I feel hugely motivated to make a difference.’’