Nadiya Hussain calls for more cookery lessons in school to combat childhood obesity

Nadiya Hussain has called for more cookery lessons in schools in a bid to tackle the nation’s obesity crisis and improve children’s mental health.

The 2015 ‘Great British Bake Off’ winner’s comments come after actress, Maureen Lipman, suggested that cookery shows “pander” to the childhood obesity epidemic by serving “uncookable food”.

In response, Hussain emphasised that cookery lessons could in fact help educate children’s dietary decisions not negatively impact them.

“If somebody doesn’t like watching cookery shows that’s absolutely fine,” the mother-of-three said. “But to say that it is fuelling obesity crisis is absurd. It isn’t. And that’s what I love about cooking. It’s not just about feeding. Cooking is about celebration, about love.”

“My son is cooking at home but I make him get in the kitchen. That’s not necessarily the case with every single child,” Hussain continued. “They don’t get to cook at home… everyone has got their own rules.”

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“Learning how to cook, being frugal, using vegetables, learning how to put a rainbow on your plate, is going to help what you eat and how well you eat.”

But it’s not just about trying to combat childhood obesity, as the 34-year-old emphasises that learning to cook can also be beneficial for a child’s mental health.

“We forget that cooking not only educates, which of course in turn helps with childhood obesity…” she added. “But it also gives you a love for something. It brings joy.”

“We’re not just trying to tackle child obesity… What about what cooking gives you for your mental health? We need to think about both things.”

Hussain then went on to use her teenage son as an example, adding that he will only open up at the family dinner table.

“We move so quickly in society now we have no time for anything, the least we can do is make time to eat with each other. It brings happiness, it makes people talk,” she continued.

“The only thing that can make my teenager talk is a good meal. When I say, ‘How was school today?’ he’ll say, ‘Yeah it was fine.’ Then I put dinner in front of him and (he says) everything.”

Hussain is no stranger to opening up about mental health issues, as she starred in a BBC documentary on her personal battle with “extreme anxiety” earlier this year.

In the programme, she underwent cognitive behavioural therapy to combat issues from her childhood which stemmed from bullying she experienced in primary school.

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"Having anxiety is probably one of the most lonely, most isolating things to have because you are your own worst enemy and you live inside your head," Hussain said.

In her next television show, ‘Nadiya’s Time to Eat’, she will encourage families to learn to cook together and will demonstrate “time-saving hacks” from late night snacks to healthy meals for the day ahead.

‘Nadiya’s Time to Eat’ will air at 8pm on Monday July 15 on BBC Two.

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