LUCY MAPSTONE

WHY WE’RE GAINING WEIGHT

ACROSS three episodes, Hugh, 53 explores a number of factors that contribute to the obesity crisis.

“One thing is certain,” he starts, “it is not just individual action and inspiration and willpower that will turn this around. “It’s a complex issue, and not just one thing has gone wrong – it’s a bunch of developments that have conspired to make our diets very unhealthy. We have to really look at the whole food culture, the profound over-availability of these highly calorific, highly processed and hyper-palatable foods.”

SOME OF THE CAUSES

Highlighting how much sugar is often unknowingly packed into big-brand cereals, he shocks a group of parents when they realise the volume of the white stuff their children are consuming daily.

He is also faced with a large array of convenience food stores and takeaways in poorer areas of the UK.

A NATION AT RISK

THE problem is not entirely down to us as individuals, Hugh insists, because “people don’t evolve in a generation”.

“We don’t become a different society, we don’t become different humans. What can evolve, in the space of 30 years, is an industry, and the combination of agriculture, food developments, food design, marketing, and the ability to target certain social groups for certain things. These things are all driven by a free market.

“It turns out to be loaded against us, giving us a lot of problems. It’s time to call it out and do something about it.”

THE FUTURE

■ Britain’s Fat Fight with Hugh FearnleyWhittingstall starts on BBC1 on Wednesday, April 25, at 9pm.

AMONG his many efforts, Hugh challenges the big corporations whose food labelling methods leave consumers confused. HUGH says we must come together to “challenge society and challenge the Government” to make real change and turn things around for our...