Next, Government will teach grandmother to suck low fat eggs?

An NHS leaflet which urged kids to exercise during TV ad breaks has been shelved after being branded ‘patronising’ and’ unrealistic’ by angry parents.

Red-faced health chiefs were forced to withdraw the booklet, designed to curb growing child obesity levels in the UK, after several complaints from focus groups.

They even put out a statement suggesting ‘Your Child’s Weight’ “was not developed as a Government leaflet for real use”.

So, DietPixie wants to know is it really unrealistic to ask kids to do get in a few press-ups and star jumps in between early Saturday morning cartoons?

I mean, surely, it’s in parents’ interests for children to miss adverts, isn’t it? It could save you a fortune in toys.

Plus, instead of getting them to don a tracksuit and run around the garden three times, they could do something more productive, like make tea.

That means parents can sit in front of the TV, get rid of the rubbish programmes and enjoy a Kit Kat on a Saturday morning in peace. Not the kids, though, they have to refrain from snacking and only drink water and milk during the day.

We could talk about adults’ obesity problems, but this story is all about kids being fat, right?

Anyway, what seems to have really got up parents’ noses is the quiz into the family’s eating habits, which assessed whether your child was at risk of becoming obese - like one out of ten children in the UK are by the time they go to primary school.

For example, it asks whether you reward your kids with treats for being good. After all, they are not dogs.
But speaking to the Daily Mail, one parent suggested it was “unrealistic not to use food this way”.

They said:

“I’ve almost been made to feel guilty. I don’t think there’s anything wrong if my little girl’s being given a packet of chocolate buttons on a Sunday.”

Chocolate buttons on a Sunday? Outrageous!

In a report on parents’ attitude to the leaflet, BMRB market researchers noted:

“The Healthy Habits Quiz was felt to have a strict scoring system that meant most children were at risk of becoming overweight. Related to this, the tone was viewed as alarmist as the use of words such as ‘risk’ could be frightening for parents and create unnecessary anxiety.”

Unsurprisingly, such opinions meant the leaflet - due to be handed out to parents as part of the school weigh-in program, where children between five and 11 are weighed and measured - never got past the market research stage.

An alternative leaflet has since been sent out without the quiz and a few less tips. DietPixie understands the bit about exercising in between ad breaks stayed in.

Brilliant. One sugar and milk, please.

Picture: http://pixblix.com