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By Gina Campbell
Celebrity chefs dominate the TV ratings, cookery books top the best seller lists, newspapers and magazines compete to come up with wonder diets and when scientists are not warning of the dangers of obesity agony aunts warn teenagers of the evils of anorexia. The Wire examines the many contradictions of Britian's obsession with food.
THERE is such a strong contrast in our society, from the size zero phenomenon to the people we watch in embarrassment giving a sample of their ‘stool’ to TV’s shock doc Gillian McKeith.
The rise of the ‘dumbing down’ culture has seen an influx of relatively cheap TV programmes being produced, many of which concern diet. From Diet Doctors to Super-Size Me the scheduling is jam-packed with shows showing you how to lose weight. Jamie Oliver could be named as somewhat of a pioneer in this revolution. We all remember the cheeky Essex fellow reaching out to the Government to ask for a change in school dinners, as well as to pursue a successful television programme of course. As I am led to believe by the press, junk food has been eradicated in many schools nationwide, so maybe a pat on the back is in order sonny Jim. Jamie’s latest set of shows are part of Channel Four’s Food Season where we see Jamie, Gordon Ramsay and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall revealing the truth behind the cheap food we eat. The problem with this series of revelations is that people are now over-thinking what they eat. Only the other day, a friend told me she’d turned vegan after seeing the shocking way poultry is treated.
With this, dinnertime becomes an epic task of finding something you can actually eat. Hours of your day are spent planning, cooking and finally eating this guilt free diet. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for caring for the planet’s animals but plan, cook, clean, work and socialise? I don’t think so.
Around £500 million a year is spent by the NHS to combat obesity, so there is certainly a need for change. But is the public taking these programmes seriously or do we still sit back and unashamedly mock the obese who are being humiliated on air? I can still switch on my box to find Jeremy Kyle shouting at some over-weight woman for using food to comfort her through the ordeals of her life, only to be faced with an audience eager for the guest to burst into tears and run off the stage. So do we really care?
On the other end of the scale, the last few years have seen the increase of the size-zero diet. Nicole Ritchie is a prime example of someone in the media who has lost far too much weight, seriously risking her health and unfortunately influencing many girls going through the most traumatic years of their lives.
We all know what it’s like to be a teenager. Channel Four’s ‘Super-Skinny Me’ sees one normal sized (10 stone) woman, Kate Spicer go through the turmoil’s of becoming a size zero. Over the time, she felt bored, anxious, constantly fainted and felt like she was on a constant high. Some of you may liken to the latter, but if you’re anything like me you’d be baffled to why people put themselves through this only to look gaunt and ill as a result.
If this article has taught you anything, hopefully it’s to trust your instincts and not get too bogged down in losing or gaining too much weight.Britain is spiralling into a country full of people too obsessed by food to enjoy their life.
As your mum used to say when you sat down for your afternoon tea, think of the starving children of Africa before you scoff down your food or refuse to eat it.
It may just save your life.
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