Sunday, January 2, 2011

FOODS TO EAT WHEN ON WEIGHT WATCHERS

FOODS TO EAT WHEN ON WEIGHT WATCHERS ; A range of companies have joined forces with the Government to help promote better food choices and exercise. Asda, Birds Eye, Uniliver, Mars, Weight Watchers, Nestle and Warburtons are among the well-known brands taking part.

Under the Great Swapathon, households will be offered a £50 book of vouchers, recipes for healthy versions of popular snacks and advice on sporty activities. Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said the Change4Life scheme would encourage people to make better choices. "It's a financial incentive and it's not one paid for by the taxpayer," he said.

It's one where we're coming together with our partners the media industry and retailers - they are the ones who are making this available, they are showing their commitment to health being everybody's concern."

He continued: "The healthy option isn't always the cheapest option so it's a really important step to be able to offer £50 off healthier foods, drinks and activities.

"Asda is even offering 20% off dining room furniture to encourage families to sit round a table together for meals," the Health Secretary added.

The interim Chief Medical Officer for England, Professor Dame Sally Davies, said the new year was a good time to think more about choosing healthier options.

"Ideally we should be doing 30 minutes of exercise five times a week - or an hour a day for children," she advised.

"Exercise doesn't have to be painful - you could take the dog for a walk or play with your kids in the park. Anything that gets your heart pumping. And we should try to eat five portions of fruit and veg every day."

But others have expressed concern about large corporations taking such a lead role in telling people what to eat.

Tim Lang, a professor of food policy at City University said he did not like the firms "controlling" the scheme.

"I'm nervous if big companies are put in charge of public health - that's not to say they can't be good for public health - but if they are centrally involved in delivering it," he said.

"I think that history suggests we need to set frameworks, level playing fields in which they then operate."

Related Post:

No comments:

Post a Comment