FOOD experts reckon cooking is the recipe for success in the battle against the bulge.
Alarm bells rang last week when it was revealed more than three-quarters of children referred to weight management services over three years were classed as severely obese.
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There were 3,405 referrals for kids aged 17 and under between 2019 and 2022, according to Public Health Scotland stats.
Those from the most deprived areas made up 31 per cent, compared to eight per cent in more affluent parts. And with 94 per cent of all young referrals classed as obese, the Scottish Government is targeting improvement through prevention and weight management.
Top telly chef Gary Maclean, 52, believes it’s time to take action. The Glasgow-based expert said: “When I was in school, there was very little obesity and very few overweight kids.
“If you go back to how your granny lived, they never had any choice but to cook and their parents had no choice either and that’s how the skills passed on.
“We need more emphasis on the importance of teaching our kids to cook.
“I completely disagree that cooking fresh is more expensive, but it’s easy to say that if you know how to cook.
“A large proportion of the population don’t have the skills, so they stick to the same things they’ve been making their kids.
“How do we teach parents who then teach the kids, like we used to? These days, depending on lifestyle or budget, you can feed yourself without knowing how to cook.
“If you can put an oven on, you can cook. There was none of that convenience 40 years ago. It was fresh food — like it or lump it.”
The MasterChef: The Professionals winner, who became Scotland’s first National Chef in 2017, thinks our bodies are struggling with cultural changes. Dad-of-five Gary said: “Understanding what food does to you isn’t well known enough.
“We’re teaching kids algebra when we should be teaching them life skills.
“Some of the best colleges in the UK are in Scotland from a culinary point of view.
“There could be a way to use the talent we’ve already got to help teach people how to cook.”
NHS paediatric dietitian Hazel Duncan, who runs a website called Kids Nutrition, believes Covid and the cost-of-living crisis played roles in the obesity epidemic.
She said: “Obesity rates in children increased during the pandemic and lockdown due to the change in families’ eating habits and lifestyles.
“Movement decreased and, in some instances, the availability of fresh food decreased, children’s group activities all stopped and people were less active.
“Increased rates appear to be continuing, with many children perhaps not having restarted programmes previously established.
“With increasing costs of food, including fresh food, this has an impact on many families’ abilities to purchase unprocessed foods and cook from scratch.
“Many are also time limited, having to work longer hours to increase income. There is, in turn, a heavier reliance on processed convenience foods, which can be less healthy.”
The Scottish Government announced this month that over £500,000 will be awarded to NHS projects that tackle childhood obesity and associated health inequalities as part of a bid to halve childhood obesity by 2030.
Jenni Minto, public health minister, said: “We want Scotland to be the best place in the world for a child to grow up, and these early years projects are crucial to our bold ambition.
“They will also help tackle inequalities by working with families and communities to encourage healthy eating and offering support for those experiencing food insecurity.”
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As well as strategies such as imposing a soft drink levy, introducing more reduced sugar food and making healthier school meals, Ms Minto reckons families need early access to support for overweight youngsters.
She added: “Portion sizing information should be provided in clear, understandable terms, movement and fitness should be encouraged and access to sports clubs and equipment available for all.”