Fear

Nanny has been haranguing us for sometime now about obesity. She is fed up with seeing people walking around, who are not the “correct” shape or size.

In her view this rise in obesity is down to our own fecklessness, and the fact that food manufacturers have had the audacity to increase the size of the average food portion.

As usual with Nanny, when she is having a “hissy fit”, she threatens to regulate to death those areas of life that don’t conform to her standards; in this instance via the Department of Health White Paper, which is due to be published soon.

Fearing this, the Food and Drink Federation have prepared a set of voluntary guidelines. One of these guidelines suggests the scrapping of king sized chocolate bars.

A spokesperson from the Food and Drink Federation said:

"Nobody wants extra regulation. The industry has always said it wants to be part of the solution on food and health. We are pulling together everything that the industry is doing and saying the manufacturing industry is already providing wider choice, changing the way it is marketing to children and changing its recipes. I'm sure that will contribute into the White Paper. I do not think from now on we can be accused of dragging our feet."

Read that very carefully, and you will see that they are afraid of Nanny. This is a very worrying development, for it has proven to Nanny that her methodology of haranguing and bullying works; she does not need to resort to reasoned argument, or debate.

She has succeeded, yet again, in interfering with peoples’ lives; and reducing their freedom of choice.

However, Nanny should not celebrate too soon, the removal of the king sized portion means that those who enjoy a larger helping will merely buy two ordinary sizes; thereby increasing their calorie intake, and the adding to the profits of the food manufacturers.