Schools help beat obesity problem

This follows statistics released this week from the Association of Public Health Observatories showing that the UK is the fattest member of the EU and the West Midlands has the highest percentage of obese adults. A total of 483 schools across West Midlands form part of the national Let's Get Cooking network. More than half of people taking part in cooking clubs for families say they eat a healthier diet after being taught how to cook balanced meals through Let's Get Cooking. Research revealed that 59% of club members said they were eating more healthily after their involvement with the programme, while 90% reported that they had used their new cooking skills at home. David Edwards, director of Let's Get Cooking, said: "Part of the reason that Let's Get Cooking is so successful is that we are teaching practical cooking skills, not just talking about healthy eating messages. "The bottom line is that people enjoy learning to cook. When they see how easy and cheaply you can make healthy family meals, nearly everyone involved with Let's Get Cooking cooks again at home and shares their new skills with others." Let's Get Cooking works with organisations to deliver healthy cooking programmes and is led by the School Food Trust. The Trust is delivering a £20 million school-based cooking club programme for the Big Lottery Fund and there are now more than 4,000 school-based Let's Get Cooking clubs in every local authority across England.