Eating crisps is like drinking oil

Eating one packet of crisps a day is the equivalent of pouring almost five litres of cooking oil down your throat every year, a heart charity said yesterday.

The shocking statistic was revealed by the British Heart Foundation as it launched a hardhitting new advertising campaign.

It features a young girl drinking from a bottle of cooking oil with the caption: ‘What goes into crisps goes into you.’

More than half of British children eat a packet of crisps a day, it warned. One in five munches their way through two packets or more – the equivalent of nine litres of cooking oil a year.

Prof Peter Weissberg, the charity’s medical director, said: ‘Having a daily dose of such a highfat, nutritionally poor product is a threat to children’s long-term health.

Rising rates of childhood obesity and cases of type two diabetes paint a particularly grim picture for the future.’

The Food4Thought campaign aims to expose the amounts of hidden salt, fat and sugar within many foods, ahead of World Heart Day on Sunday.

About 2,500 British schools will be sent teaching aids in the shape of over-sized burger boxes to educate children about the dangers of fast food.

‘The BHF wants to expose the truth lurking within these foods and to help children and parents make healthier choices,’ added Prof Weissberg.