A leading surgeon operating on obese patients says he has seen young people so overweight during his career that they have not left home in eight years.

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Perhaps it would help if we didn't build the world's biggest fast food restaurant directly outside our flagship sports stadium?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2164517/Worlds-biggest-McDonalds-First-pictures-inside-Olympic-Stadium-fast-food-restaurant.html

My 15 year old daughter hasn't done one home economics or food technology class in the entire time she's been at school (I mean EVER - infant, junior or secondary). Apart from the minor point that she wants to be a chef (seriously!), what happens to kids who don't have parents who teach them to cook at home? It's no wonder that people don't eat anything that doesn't come out of the microwave or a take-away container!

I can't even completely criticise parents of my age (mid thirties) who don't teach their kids to cook, because one of my major memories of university was being shocked at how many of my housemates only ate sandwiches or packets of noodles or boxed cereals because they didn't know how to cook food from scratch. The other shocking thing to me was how many of them couldn't use their judgement to tell if food was "off" or not, or safe to reheat. Whole plates of food would be thrown away because using up leftovers was seen as dirty or unhygienic. I can remember one of them gagging when I cling-filmed a bowl of mashed potatoes and told her that I'd use them to make potato scones for breakfast. She said and I quote "That's so trampy!".

We've lost a generation somewhere, in terms of being able to cope sensibly as adults. I think Home Economics (to include budgeting, finance, cookery, health and hygiene) should be compulsory until kids take their options. It would only need to be one hour a week - surely that's more beneficial than the SEAL (Social Environmental Awareness Lessons) that my daughter is currently burning up an hour a week in?