An article in ‘The Times’ today by Consummer Editor Valarie Elliott outlines the results of a new survey that finds  today’s teenagers – and it seems teenage girls in particular – eating a worse diet than they did ten years ago. The statistics make for grim reading as diets full of  ‘convience junk food’ seem to be the norm with only 7% of girls eating enough fruit and vegetables.

Whilst the article makes for interesting reading it is also, unfortunately, not surprising. You only have to take a look around to know that the very same teenagers Valarie describes are living, breathing and eating their way through a mountain of ‘junk’ foods in a high street near you.

It seems very different to when I was a teenager. Back in the day when I went to  school Home Economic classes were compulsory. As I understand it they aren’t anymore. Since 1996 Home Economics has been an optional subject. Hmmmm……. any link there??

But then the world is a different place today than it was when I was at school. Junk food wasn’t as prevalent in diets back then as it is now, I’m not even sure if the term was used then. My mum used to work, mornings and evenings and yet everynight we sat down – without the TV on – and ate a home cooked meal together as a family. (Interestingly another article from today’s papers claims that a study has found that sitting down to traditional ‘family meals’ everynight can cut child obesity by 40%.) Biscuits, cakes, crisps, all these things were considered ‘treats’ and not ‘snacks’ as they are today. If we were thirsty then more times than not we would drink water to quench that thirst and not glug sugary, fizzy soda’s as seems to be the norm today. I learned to cook from my mother and my grandmother as well as from school and by the time I was 13 I could tackle a full roast dinner for my family without any problem. I wonder how many of the girls in the survey could do that.

My point is that I learned about food from those around me – my elders, my teachers and my peers and it would seem that today’s teenagers are doing the very same. However, they aren’t getting the same message that I was given. They aren’t being taught to cook from scratch or learning about the different food groups and their importance in the diet because someone in the government of the day back in 1996 decided that it wasn’t necessary to learn that in school anymore. Home life for many kids today is rushed and busy and the emphasis for many isn’t about coming together as a family and eating good healthy food but rather to eat quick, convenient food that is processed and ready made. For parents that both work it is a god send as less time is required to feed everyone.

I believe that education over what is and isn’t good about the food we eat today is what is lacking. Our society relies on convenience and zero hassle and there are a myriad of companies and manufacturers our there who constantly reinforce that ideal and provide us with our quick fix. In the article Dr Alison Tedstone, head of nutrition research at the Food Standards Agency states that:-

‘she hopes that diets would improve as manufacturers reformulated products and lowered saturated fat and sugar content’

To me that is just handing over responsibility to someone else. When the manufacturers improve then so will our diets. Well, we don’t actually have to eat what the manufacturers provide and if we start re-educating our kids about what constitutes a healthy diet and what good health actually means then maybe we will start to see a more healthy generation emerge. Lets hope so……….