Child Obesity

I am no expert on the subject of child obesity, as I don't know a great many children, let alone obese ones. But is occured to me, after reading that the government is reviewing its guidelines for school menus, that this isn't the whole story. Often, when I was at school in the seventies and eighties I took a packed lunch, but if I didn't I ate sausage and chips from the school canteen. Sometimes fish fingers and chips, sometimes just chips, or sometimes I would have baked beans with it. Why was I not obese then?

I think it is because I ate a better diet at home. I was quite a fussy eater, but somehow or other I was fed a balanced diet. Also, I was not greedy and didn't tend to snack on chocolate between meals or anything. Nowadays, there are so many Ready Meals or easy alternatives that have added fat, sugar or salt compared to those meals cooked from scratch. I am not saying that I don't eat these alternatives sometimes, but a balance needs to be struck.

Also, in the years that TV didn't start until PlaySchool at 3pm, and before PlayStations were invented, we played on our bikes and made our own games up.