Something that has been bothering me for some time...

Today, I'm going to muse on a crucial matter of global importance. If you are easily offended, you might want to stop reading now.

As everyone knows, the greatest crisps ever invented by man are Walkers Cheese and Onion crisps. Truly, they are the second-finest expression of the paragon of vegetables, behind only chips in their gloriousness. (In the unlikely event that there are any Americans reading: crisps (UK) = chips (US), and chips (UK) = fries (US).)

At least, that used to be the case. However, a few months ago, Walkers announced that they had found a way to make their crisps using "sunseed oil", which would allow them to reduce the fat content by about 70% (!) without affecting the taste (!!). Truly, a wonderful outcome, if only it had been true.

Weep with me, friends, for they have ruined crisps!

The new Walkers crisps do, in fact, taste the same as their predecessors. They do, in fact, have a lot less fat. However, they are also harder, more brittle, and generally a lot less pleasant to eat. In short, they are no longer the greatest crisps in history.

Here's the thing: I'm an adult (no, really!). I am capable of making informed choices about what I eat. And I choose not to eat "low fat", "good for you!" or "diet" versions of foods. It's a taste thing - I would rather eat less nice food and/or exercise more than eat things that just aren't as nice.

I suppose that's the key, though: many adults are not capable of making informed choices about what they (or, more to the point, their children) eat. It's not easily obvious how much you should be eating of various things, nor how much of those things foods contain. And the interactions are not clear either - you're supposed to drink 1.5 litres of water per day, but does coffee count? Does Cola? Does fruit juice? You're supposed to eat 5 servings of fruit and veg per day, but how much is a serving? And does cooking the food make a difference? And what about the fact that spinach contains very different nutrients from sweetcorn?

And so the food companies feel a pressure to constantly try to make their food healthier, even if that means it doesn't taste as nice, and the government tries to force us to eat more of the things that they think are good for us. When, in fact, the correct solution to our health problems is that we're just not exercising enough. Sort that out, and many of the other problems just go away.
One suggestion that gets made every so often is the notion of a 'fat tax'. Typically, this takes the form of an additional tax on unhealthy foods. A better solution would be annual weigh-ins, and a tax based on that. The best solution, though, is nothing of the sort - simply taxing people for being overweight is useless without better enabling them to sort out their weight problems.

What needs produced is a set of leaflets, outlining several balanced diets, making use of things that are easily acquired and easily prepared. These diets should be presented making use of foods that people are actually going to eat, because simply saying "don't eat burgers" isn't going to work. The diets should cover all the meals for a whole week (at least - a month would be better) giving plenty of variety, plenty of options, and substitutions where possible.

In parallel with this, we urgently need work done to encourage people to exercise. This potentially means reclaiming land for playing fields, but that by itself is not enough. It is also crucially important to provide opportunity for exercise, and taking up that opportunity must be easy. So, our sports centres should be running workshops in whatever sports they specialise in, which should be free to all comers, and which should be heavily advertised. Every playing field should be the focus of some summer club for some sport or another.

Thirdly, there needs to be made easily available health check-ups for everyone (for free, and on an annual basis), which includes not just assessments of the the areas that need worked on, but also clear guidance on how to fix problems. At the moment, it's nigh-on impossible to see a doctor when something is wrong, so no-one goes for a preventative consultation. But we should - in the same way we all understand a car needs regularly serviced, so too should we understand that our bodies need the same.

Then, and only then, do you introduce a fat tax.

In the meantime, I'm going to continue lamenting the death of nice crisps, and think about trying out the 'Bigger Mac', because I do like a tasty burger...