Nowadays with all the TV, radio and news paper advertising we are constantly being bombarded with eateries telling us to eat here, eat there and then there are the places doing specials and 2 meals for the price of 1. When you leave your home and head out to the local shopping centre you cannot help but notice the aroma of cooking from around the four corners of the world.

As kids we were taken out to a restaurant for our birthday or a special occasion, and every month we would have a treat, something from the local chip shop or if we were really lucky a Chinese, it gave us as family something to look forward to. Now that was going back a few years ago I have to admit.

Like I said you cannot go down the local shopping centre without passing at least five restaurants all selling burgers, pizzas, kebabs and noodles, most filled with families all enjoying their lunch/dinner. As we pass the shops we can see families munching into large portions of fish and chips, burgers and some enjoying foods from other exotic countries.

Everyone loves going out for their dinner but as parents we have a legal responsibility to look after our children’s health. In a recent survey it was estimated that one in six children under the age of 18, eat a ready meal or a take away every day. This could lead to serious health problems for our children in later life, problems such as:

• High salt levels and lack of exercise this will increase their risk of stroke.
• Obesity will affect many of our children causing them to suffer from heart problems, diabetes and joint problems.
• Suffer from many different types of cancer, including liver, kidney and stomach.

Think about what you are doing to your kid’s health the next time you decide to take them out for a three course meal, look for the healthier options on the menu and your kids will thank you for it in years to come.

Being a Dad, I know just how tough it is to keep my boy’s hand out of the cookie jar or reach for a chocolate bar instead of an apple. His lack of enthusiasm about going down the park and kicking a ball about is frightening plus its only recently that he got back on his bike – a bike that has sat idle, shining like a new shilling, since he received it last christmas day. So, when I read headlines about weight loss camps for children doubling their intake – it doesn’t suprise me in the slightest, but it does get me thinking…

The fact that parents (and plenty of them) are willing to fork out between £3,500 and £8,000 to send their kids to a British ‘fat camp’ for the majority of the summer holidays shows just how desperate these families have become.

It’s easy to say fast food, television, computers and electronic console games are destroying our childrens health. But chew over this fact for a bit : By the time a child is ready to start primary school, one in six of them will be overweight and parents mistake obesity in their child for what is lightly termed as ‘puppy fat’. What is also worth considering is that ‘families on poor income’ have a higher risk of raising an obese child and this rate is growing, rapidly.

Education seems to be the key, more information about eating fruit and veg, proper excercise and more parental interaction with their kids is a positive start. Look, if we don’t start trying to communicate and educate our children about weight gain – even at very early years – we are going to see more ‘fat camps’ spread all over the UK.