What was called the Mars bar standard was notionally used to judge the health of the economy, the smaller it got the more the pinch on our pockets. We now introduce the potato chip standard, a measure of our physical health, the bigger the serving – and portions are getting much larger – so too the expansion of our waistlines and general increase in our ill health.
Obesity is a new epidemic in this country, causing diabetes, heart problems and death, along with a swelling of demand on our clinical services. And it is the poorest among us who are bearing the brunt of it, because fast foods – like those extra chips – are cheaper than healthier alternatives.
So it isn't just a question of eating less, it is about both eating better and insisting that the food we consume is not stuffed with sugars, salts and questionable and cheap additives. This is where our governments, the UK and Scottish, must act, not just to regulate the food industry for the better, but to make sure that fast food vans and the like are not parked outside our schools and the food served inside is healthy and nutritious. It may lead to a bad day fo chip shops, but a better one for the rest of us.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
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