Blame for the child obesity crisis has been laid squarely at the door of coffee shops such as Starbucks – and parents who allow youngsters to snack.
Plain-speaking health minister Anna Soubry accused coffee chains of tempting children with large syrup-laden coffees topped with marshmallows and cream, followed by an enormous muffin.
She warned that young people have no idea how many calories they consume because most outlets do not provide such details on their walls.
Frothy coffees and mid-morning muffins have been blamed for fuelling Britain's obesity crisis by health minister Anna Soubry
‘It might have marshmallows on top, and then perhaps another little dollop of cream, because it is just a snack, a treat or elevenses.
‘“And by the way”, they say, “I think I’ll have one of those very nice muffins”. They do not know how many calories that is.’
The minister also accused parents of failing to teach their children not to eat between meals.
‘Let us talk about something that did not exist when I was young – the concept of snacking,’ she said.
‘I was positively told not to eat between meals.
Ms Soubry warned young people do not know how many calories there are in the 'dollop of cream' on their drinks
Miss Soubry has previously attacked bakeries for selling cakes and croissants that are too large, and has called for supermarkets and restaurants to reduce portion sizes.
She warned that child obesity not only costs the NHS lots of money, but also costs in ‘human terms’.
‘Many of us who see children who are overweight or obese are upset and concerned about that, because we know that many of those children will not only suffer from health issues, but will be bullied,’ she said.
The minister added that people of all ages needed to be better at counting calories but said she did not want to ‘demonise’ any food.
She recalled that the concept of ‘snacking’ simply did not exist when she was young, and that she was told in no uncertain terms by her mother and father that she should only eat at mealtimes.
Miss Soubry, the public health minister, made her comments just days after claiming the Prime Minister only gave her the job because she was a woman.
She told Total Politics magazine that her position was seen by many as a ‘soft girly’ job, and was concerned that David Cameron had seen fit to give it to ‘the girl again’.
Almost a third of children are currently overweight or even obese – so fat their health is in danger.
The minister has previously attacked bakeries for selling cakes and croissants which were too large, and has called for supermarkets and restaurants to do more to reduce portion sizes.
In the Westminster Hall debate on Wednesday, Miss Soubry said child obesity was such a problem because youngsters were much more likely to eat between meals than those of her own generation.
She said the proliferation of coffee shops such as Starbucks, Costa and Caffe Nero on Britain’s high streets were making the problem worse, because they were popular with young people.
‘Let us talk about something that did not exist when I was young—the concept of snacking,’ she said.
‘I was positively told not to eat between meals. If we now look in the real world at how young people live and at what they feel is acceptable, it includes going into the many coffee shops that exist.'
The straight-talking minister said that when she was young she was told not to eat between meals
Miss Soubry warned that not only did child obesity cost the NHS lots of money, it also costs in ‘human terms’.
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‘Many of them are unhappy that they cannot, as they perceive it, join in the sport or physical activity enjoyed by their friends. There is a real human cost to overweightness and obesity.’
The minister also refused to backtrack on comments made earlier this year – and widely criticised at the time – that it was possible to tell which children were poorer because they tended to be fatter.
She said: ‘We know that 12.3 per cent of reception children who are overweight or obese are from the most deprived backgrounds, as opposed to 6.8 per cent who are from the least deprived backgrounds.
‘I do not know why, but we cannot use the word “poor” anymore. By year six, 24.3 per cent of overweight and obese children are from the most deprived backgrounds, compared with 13.7 per cent from the least deprived backgrounds.
The minister said people of all ages needed to be much better at counting their calories.
‘It is a surprise to people—even to supposedly intelligent, grown-up people such as ourselves—when they find out the calorific content of foods that we see and perceive as treats and snacks,’ she said.
‘Equally, I want to make it clear that we should never demonise any food. There is nothing wrong with chips, or burgers; what is important is that it is all good food in moderation.’
Miss Soubry, a former presenter of This Morning, is making a career out of courting controversy. Soon after taking office she provoked anger by saying she supported the legalisation of assisted dying.
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