Children warned on 'pack-a-day' crisp habit

Half of children in the UK are 'drinking' almost five litres of cooking oil every year as a result of their pack-a-day crisp habits, the British Heart Foundation has warned.

Nearly a fifth of children are consuming at least nine litres a year by eating two packets of crisps a day, the charity warned.

The BHF said that a typical 35g bag of crisps contains about two-and-a-half teaspoons of oil, increasing to three-and-a-half teaspoons in a larger 50g bag.

BHF Medical Director Professor Peter Weissberg said: "The BHF believes having a daily dose of such a high-fat, nutritionally poor product is a threat to children's long-term health. Daily unhealthy snacking is a worrying habit."

Further figures from Mintel also reveal that we eat our way through a tonne of crisps every three minutes - this would fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool every 14 hours.

Another survey also found that almost three quarters of mothers feed their children ready meals or takeaways more than three times a week.

A 2004 report also found that only 13% of boys and 12% of girls reported eating the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables daily.

Professor Weissberg said: "I am concerned we are a nation drowning in excess oil, salt and sugar as we and our children continue to ignore the warnings and consume excessive amounts of unhealthy foods.

"Crisps are just the tip of the iceberg. If you consider all the other unhealthy foods our kids are consuming the fat just continues to pile up."

The BHF's figures have been released to coincide with the launch of their Food4Thought campaign.

The campaign is aimed at exposing the hidden salt, fat and sugar lurking in common foods and will feature an ad campaign featuring a young girl drinking from a bottle of cooking oil with the caption - 'What goes into crisps goes into you.'

The campaign is calling for a ban on the marketing of junk food products to children as well as compulsory cooking skills to be taught in schools.

The charity will also send teaching resources, in the shape of over-sized burger boxes will also be sent to 2,500 schools across the UK.

Student action packs will also be delivered to 400,000 children later this year.

Over 200 children across the UK have volunteered to become BHF Young Ambassadors in order to lobby their schools, MPs and local media on the subject.

The campaign has attracted strong celebrity support from the Sugababes and Premiership footballers Anton Ferdinand and Theo Walcott.

(KMcA)