Legendary celebrity chef Antony Worrall Thompson has suggested “lazy” parents are to blame for poor nutrition amongst children in Britain.
It comes as the country contends with high levels of child obesity, despite NHS data suggesting it has fallen slightly in recent months.
Thompson joined Lee Anderson on GB News to discuss how the crisis can be tackled, arguing parents are too quick in resorting to processed junk food.
“Parents are lazy quite often”, he said on Lee Anderson’s Real World.
Antony Worrall Thompson spoke on GB News
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“I hate to say that. I don’t generalise usually but a lot of them are and they’ll push them out to get a fast food meal.”
The GB News host concurred with the sentiment, adding that people are often arguing that fast food is a cheap alternative.
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“It winds me up”, he said.
“People say processed junk food is cheaper than the fresh ingredients. I don’t think it is.”
Thompson responded: “No it isn’t, if you really analyse it.
“It appears cheap, but then you’ve got people going out there and spending four pounds on a cup of coffee, eight pounds on avocado on toast.
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“The youngsters priorities have changed. They aren’t interested in cooking.
“I think that’s a big problem for our industry as we go forward.”
Earlier in the conversation, Thompson suggested that children have “lost their way” with food.
“They don’t get enough education at school in that respect”, he said.
“It’s always a voluntary subject.”
Thompson also proposed a solution to the problem as he discussed shopping habits with Anderson.
“If you’re going to buy ready meals, you should have to pay a lot for it”, he said.
“In the winter, you’ve got good, root vegetables that are really cheap, good value, you can do things.”