LONDON - The British Heart Foundation (BHF) has issued a warning that the habit of allowing children to eat pack-a-day crisp is equivalent to consuming five liters of cooking oil a year. These figures were released by the BHF as a part of a campaign to stem the flow of unhealthy eating in children.
The foundation said that a 35g bag of crisps contains at least two-and-a-half teaspoons of cooking oil, which becomes three and a half in a 50 grams packet. Experts feel that this high consumption of oil coupled with high salt intake is undermining the health of Britain's children.
In a survey involving survey of eight to 15 year-olds, the BHF found that 50 percent of the children admitted to eating at least one pack per day. A shocking finding was that a fifth of the children admitted to eating two packs a day, meaning they drank nine liters of cooking oil per year.
"The BHF believes having a daily dose of such a high-fat, nutritionally poor product is a threat to children's long-term health," said BHF medical director Professor Peter Weissberg. "Daily unhealthy snacking is a worrying habit. Rising rates of childhood obesity and cases of type-2 diabetes paint a particularly grim picture for the future."
He added that he was concerned with the unhealthy eating habits of children that seemed to focus on oily and salty foods.
