05 Apr Essex takeaway culture putting families’ health at risk
A major charity partnership dedicated to preventing Type 2 diabetes and heart disease is urging people across the East of England to ditch unhealthy takeaways and opt for healthier, homemade ‘fakeaways’ instead.
With one in five UK adults and children reportedly eating a takeaway at least once a week, the National Charity Partnership between Diabetes UK, the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and Tesco says such regular consumption of foods that are often high in fat, salt and calories could increase people’s risk of serious ill-health.
The National Charity Partnership has developed a range of ‘fakeaway takeaway’ recipes to encourage more people to cook at home from scratch and reduce their risk of Type 2 diabetes and heart and circulatory disease, two potentially life-threatening conditions.
A survey commissioned by the National Charity Partnership shows more than one in four adults in the East of England (28 per cent) prefer to order out rather than cook homemade versions of their favourite takeaways.
Alex Davis, Head of Prevention for the National Charity Partnership, said: “Millions of people already live with Type 2 diabetes and heart and circulatory disease and millions more are at risk. We know a healthy diet can reduce people’s risk of developing them, but the serious amount of calories, total and saturated fat, salt and larger portion sizes of many takeaway foods means that even one or two a week can have a serious impact on our diets as a whole.
Research has found that a typical Chinese takeaway, consisting of a portion of vegetable spring rolls and sweet and sour chicken with egg fried rice, provides approximately 2,184 calories.
Ms. Davis added: “Our results found Chinese cuisine to be the nation’s favourite so why not swap the shop-bought options for our Prawn spring rolls and Sweet and sour chicken. They can be as quick to make too, often as fast as ordering a delivery.”
The National Charity Partnership is also running Make, Move & Munch Clubs in six areas of the UK to help families learn about healthy eating, have fun and meet other local families. The clubs are specifically designed to provide families with information, skills and support to help them reduce their risk of Type 2 diabetes and heart and circulatory disease.
The Make, Move & Munch Clubs, which are being funded as part of the National Charity Partnership’s Let’s Do This campaign, provide fun, free activities for parents/carers and children, with a tasty meal included every time. Each session has a different activity, which can include trying delicious new recipes through food demonstrations and cooking or having a go at simple ways to get active.
