Obesity fight comes under fire

The Government has been criticised for apparently advising restaurants how to cut portion sizes to help fight obesity — without cutting their prices.

Stopping free poppadoms in curry restaurants, serving takeaways in smaller containers and making smaller pizzas are among ideas available online from the Department of Health’s Responsibility Deal programme.

The voluntary scheme advises restaurants on how to make the food and drink they serve less fattening, with one tip for pizzeria owners saying: “Thinner bases — bigger profits!”