Chef gives his backing to campaign in obesity fight
THE winner of MasterChef: The Professionals is backing a campaign calling for restrictions on junk food and drink multibuy offers to help tackle the country’s growing obesity problem.
Gary Maclean is supporting Obesity and Cancer Awareness Week, a new joint initiative from Cancer Research UK and Obesity Action Scotland. The week, running from October 9 to 15, aims to highlight the link between the two issues.
Obesity is linked to 13 different types of cancer and is the second biggest preventable cause of cancer in the UK after smoking, Cancer Research UK said.
Almost a third 65 per cent of Scottish adults (16+) were overweight or obese in 2016 while 29 per cent of children were at risk of being overweight or obese, according to latest figures.
Mr Maclean was served a large 5lb lump of ‘body fat’ on a silver platter of doughnuts at the launch of the week yesterday to highlight the link between obesity and cancer.
He said: “To see and feel what five pounds of body fat actually looks like is really shocking. It’s hard to believe so many of us are carrying extra weight around on our bodies all the time.
“Obesity is one of the biggest issues facing our society with huge consequences for our health, the NHS and the wider economy.
“Too many cases of cancer and other health issues are linked to obesity and so it’s about time we said ‘enough is enough’.
“The Scottish Government has an opportunity to set an incredible example to the rest of the UK with an obesity strategy that will help people keep a healthy weight by filling their shopping trolleys with healthy foods that don’t blow the budget.”
Cancer Research UK and Obesity Action Scotland are calling on the Scottish Government to introduce regulations to restrict multibuy offers on unhealthy food and drink, paving the way for supermarkets to promote nutritious alternatives.