Fast Food Health Risk

Archived

Thursday, 29 January 2004

Both the Sun and the Mail carry stories about the dangers of 'fast food' today. In the Sun's 'Great Fast Food Experiment', four volunteers ate nothing but fast food for four days. Health problems, such as soaring levels of body and blood fats, were registered even over this short period.

The Mail carried a story about food manufacturers being accused of effectively 'poisoning' their customers by packing products with hidden salt. Professor Graham MacGregor, chairman of Consensus Action on Salt, said the salt levels in processed foods are directly responsible for high blood pressure, which causes 500,000 deaths, heart attacks and strokes each year.

Public Health Minsiter Melanie Johnson told fast food giants that she wants clear evidence of reductions in salt levels by February 27 or products could be forced to carry a 'high in salt' warning label.