Good evening

We know that this country has an obesity problem. Too many of us enjoy our food too much and exercise too little.

But is a plan for a tax hike on fatty and sugary foods as recommended by the Government’s health tsar, the right thing to do?

While in theory this sounds like a sound idea - make it too expensive for people to buy too many of the wrong kinds of food - in reality it will just lead to hardship and children going hungry.

There is nothing wrong with eating something sweet or enjoying a pizza or takeaway every now and again. The problem comes when that is ALL you are eating.

Most families these days have two adults who work full-time, so convenience is important - but so is eating healthily.

So, we need to start from scratch if we want to seriously impact the quality of the food people eat every day.

And that means educating them at an early age about how to cook healthy meals quickly themselves rather than relying on ready meals and junk food.

That is a much bigger job than putting up taxes.

Until next time, take care,

Gillian

Drop me a line at gillian.parkinson@jpimedia.co.uk with your views and please subscribe to support sustainable local journalism in your community. Click here to view our offers.

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