Everyone likes a bag of chips, a bit of fried chicken or a King Prawn Chop Suey from their local takeaway. But, would you be as enthused about dropping into your local fast food joint for a raspberry smoothie or a Salad Nicoise?
Well, that’s the aim of the Mayor’s latest campaign to try and get people to eat more healthily. The Evening Standard reports that there are an estimated 8,273 fast-food takeaway shops in London, one for every 1,000 Londoners. Now, Bozza has thrown his support behind the Takeaways Toolkit, guidance published by the London Food Board in partnership with the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health.
Boris said: “As a city, as a nation, we are getting fatter. Just over a third of 10 and 11-year-olds are overweight or obese, with numbers rising all the time, contributing to a problem that costs the NHS as much as £4 billion annually”
The aim of the Toolkit is to help Londoners and fast food owners make more healthy choices. One suggestion is for councils to work directly with takeaway owners to cut saturated fats, salt and sugar in their cooking and introduce low-fat foods to the menu.
The Mayor’s push to tackle London’s obesity problem follows similar measures implemented by New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has banned extra large cups of sugary drinks. In June, Mr Johnson responded to Mr Bloomberg’s idea by writing that “where New York leads, London is not far behind”.
So, next time you stumble into Abrakebabra for a late night doner, be warned that if you may not get the meat. Or the bread. Just the salad.
Better quality take away food in London and the UK could easily be achieved if a consensus was made as to what really caused obesity. Sugar in food and not fats is the cause and this should be made clear.