Our love of food is killing us. MAXINE GORDON reports on new controversial moves to tackle the looming obesity epidemic.

PUT down that burger, empty that can of fizzy pop, bin those crisps and chomp down on these facts. Obesity is poised to overtake tobacco as the greatest cause of premature death in the UK. Obesity levels have rocketed by 500 per cent in the past 25 years, with three out of four adults now overweight or obese.

If present trends continue, then half of all children in England will be obese by 2020.

And fat's not all, folks.

Being overweight causes a range of medical conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and arthritis, costs the NHS £4.9 billion annually, and leads to 9,000 premature deaths in Britain each year.

Got the stomach for any more?

Researchers found that 92 per cent of young people eat too much fat, and are bombarded by 1,000 adverts for junk food every day. Most children take less than two hours of exercise a week, despite the Government recommending we should aim for half an hour each day.

It all adds up to a recipe for a health disaster and has given the government, health experts and retailers plenty of food for thought.

During the past year, some of the leading names in fast food, advertising, medicine and diet have given evidence to the House of Commons Health Select Committee's investigation into our ballooning waistlines.

This week, the committee made its recommendations, which the Govern-ment is mindful to implement.

Most controversially, the committee is recommending introducing a 'traffic-light' labelling system on food - red for bad, amber for OK and green good - to help consumers identify healthier options. But it looks as if it could be trolleys at dawn because critics within the food industry dismiss the scheme as an expensive gimmick.

Other proposals on flab fighting include introducing annual weigh-ins for children, the voluntary withdrawal of TV advertising of junk food to children, increased physical activity in schools which would be inspected by Ofsted and the launch of a national campaign to highlight the dangers of being overweight or obese.

The British Retail Consortium, which represents the major supermarkets and smaller independent stores, says it welcomes moves to educate the public about healthy eating and lifestyles, but believes the 'traffic-light' proposal should be shelved.

Under such a system, it claims, staples such as bread, cheese and meat would be given red labels, which could in turn lead to a drop in iron and calcium intakes. Moreover, a similar scheme in Sweden has failed to make an impact on obesity levels.

Kevin Hawkins, BRC director general, said: "By demonising certain foods, the report's recommendations ignore the advice of the UK's best nutritionists who have warned them that there are no good or bad foods, only good or bad diets."

So what is a good diet? For a generation, we have been told to eat lots of carbohydrates and cut down on fat. And yet never have we been fatter. Then came along Dr Atkins and his low-carbohydrate mantra which has become the weight-loss programme du jour.

Retailers are now selling low-carb products - and Nestl has launched the low-carb Kit Kat.

The jury is still out on Atkins, but there is no getting away for the fact that his methods - and the dilemma of our expanding waistlines - have given nutritionists plenty to sink their teeth into.

York nutritional therapist Azizah Clayton is clear about what constitutes a good diet. She tells us to imagine the shopping trolley as a pyramid.

"At the bottom you have wholegrain food, such as wholegrain bread and brown rice," she says. "Most people are lacking Omega 3 and 6, which make your cells receptive to everything you put into your body, so next you should have olive oil and vegetable oil.

"Next up are vegetables and fruit in abundance. Then nuts and lentils, peas, broad beans, which will provide you with your essential fats. Next is fish, poultry and eggs, which you can have up to twice a day. Then, near the top, is dairy: cheese and milk, then at the very top is red meat and butter, potatoes, white bread, pasta and sweets."

In this diet, adds Azizah, nothing is banned, but you can see from the pyramid shape that the items at the top should be restricted.

"You can't really tell people not to eat chocolate," she asserts. "But you can tell them they can have these things in small quantities."

Azizah doesn't see any harm in traffic-light labelling if it directs people to healthier food. "The majority of people do not eat enough fresh food," she says.

Instead, most of us eat too much processed food, salt and sugar and Azizah is all for any educational efforts to help people change their habits. And with children, she suggests tough love.

"I used to punish my children if they did not eat their vegetables. They could not watch television until they had swallowed every mouthful.

"Children are very receptive. There should be health education in schools, explaining to them about healthy eating and why."

That is already going on in York, under the Healthy Schools scheme, in which pupils learn about diet and exercise but also emotional well-being and drugs education.

On July 12, the council is hosting a Healthy Schools Day, where about 160 children will be invited to Next Generation to have the clean-living message reinforced. Beside sessions on citizenship and transport, pupils can try out various sports activities and enjoy a healthy options lunch, says Health School Schemes co-ordinator Jenny Philpott.

Jenny also represents the education authority on the new obesity strategy group, which has been launched by the York and Selby Primary Care Trust, which aims to work with schools, doctors and the NHS to find ways to tackle the growing obesity problem.

While we wait to see the precise prescription the medics and the politicians come up with, many of us will choose to take the matter into our own hands.

Joanne Toolan, 38, an insurance sales manager from Selby, is just one of thousands of people across the region who have got their weight problem under control by joining a slimming club.

Since starting Weight Watchers last May, Joanne had shed three and a half stone, by a combination of a low-fat diet and regular swimming sessions.

As a full-time working mum and wife, she welcomes any moves to make shopping for healthy food easier. She is in favour of traffic-light labelling, as long as it is monitored for accuracy.

"If everyone knows red means no, amber is borderline and green is yes, it would make things easier. I'm on a tight time schedule and like to be in and out at the supermarket, so anything that makes it easier to identify the lower-fat option would be welcome."

Updated: 10:29 Friday, May 28, 2004