Packets chip away at good health
FIFTY per cent of British children have a pack-a-day crisp habit and are consuming the equivalent of five litres of cooking oil a year, the British Heart Foundation (BHF) has warned.
The foundation released the figures as part of a campaign to educate the public about the amount of "hidden" salt, fat and sugar in common foods.
"I am concerned we are a nation drowning in excess oil, salt and sugar as we and our children continue to ignore the warnings and consume excessive amounts of unhealthy foods. Crisps (potato chips) are just the tip of the iceberg," said Professor Peter Weissberg, medical director of the charity.
A typical 35 gram packet of chips contains 12.5 teaspoons of oil.
In a BHF survey of 1153 children aged between eight and 15, an average 49 per cent of youngsters ate at least one pack of crisps a day. The figures ranged from a high of 60 per cent in Scotland to a low of 30 per cent in London. In Wales the figure was 50 per cent.
One in five of the children questioned said they ate crisps twice a day or more.
Britons' taste for them is so strong that as a nation they consume a tonne of crisps every three minutes, enough to fill an Olympic size swimming pool every 14 hours, the BHF said, referring to a Mintel report.
"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 Professor Weissberg.
"Daily unhealthy snacking is a worrying habit," he added. "Rising rates of childhood obesity and cases of type 2 diabetes paint a particularly grim picture for the future."