How many takeaways does it take to make a small town overweight?

I am fan of the odd kobeda and chips — normally on a Thursday night after the swimming session.

But I know of several people who simply live off fast food. And it isn’t hard to do so in some of our neighbourhoods. We have more takeaways in our small town than most places I visit.

There is nothing wrong with the odd kebab but in recent years there has been a boom in some streets.

I don’t blame the takeaway owners but the planners.

I can’t remember ever getting any fast food when I was younger. It was normally once a month on a Saturday when we managed to get a few kebabs. It was a treat.

Recently, I walked into one takeaway and in no less than ten minutes several kids walked in wanting their favourite ‘Donner and chips’. It had to come with extra chilli and garlic sauce of course.

But ordering this rubbish came as second nature to them.

Now, I will not say anything against one’s weight but you can’t expect your kids to stay healthy if from a young age you feed them fast food.

This is what some parents are doing. A kebab once week has turned into something more regular and we then worry about why people are unhealthy.

Within the Asian community mothers have an almost constant fascination with feeding their kids! The more food in the house the more comfortable we feel.

There was a sense of pride in cooking food at home. But it is far easier now to simply walk down the road and buy some cheese burgers.

The worst excuse given by some parents is that their kids will only eat certain things. I was in one home recently and the dad went out to buy a burger and chips for his son at 9pm because his wife said the 13 year-old wouldn’t anything else. Let’s just say I made my feelings known and his son did not get that burger!