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Celebrity chefs 'exacerbate Britain's obesity crisis



Nigella Lawson and other celebrity chefs are 'exacerbating' the country's obesity crisis by encouraging people to eat dishes packed with fat, a new study has warned.

Nutrition experts tested more than 900 recipes from 26 famous cooks and found 87 per cent fell 'substantially short' of the Government's healthy eating recommendations.

Just 13 per cent recommended ingredients that would create a healthy meal based on guidelines devised by the Government's Food Standards Agency.



Nigella Lawson was one of the celebrity chefs whose recipes were tested by nutrition experts

Researchers from Coventry University, who are publishing their findings today, refused to name the chefs involved beyond making clear they are household names.

However, previous studies have shamed the likes of Nigella Lawson, Rick Stein, Jean-Christophe Novelli and John Burton-Race.

Nigella's most recent TV series and book for the BBC, Nigellissima, was promoted with images of the cook looking remarkably slim following a punishing exercise regime.




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By contrast, some of the recipes in the book could see a follower eating the recommended maximum calorie count for an entire day in a single sitting.

Her desserts included a chocolate and hazelnut cheesecake, which contains more than 7,000 calories, while here ice cream brioche came in at 2,144 calories.

The brioche may be delicious and indulgent, but it contains more than the 2,000 calories that a woman should eat for one day.



Rick Stein's Raspberry Cranachan has been highlighted for its high cream content

Nigella has also been criticised for her heavy handed use of butter in her egg and bacon pie. A single serving contains 38g of fat, which is also double the recommended daily maximum for a woman.

Rick Stein's Raspberry Cranachan has been highlighted for its high cream content.

The recommended daily saturated fat limit is 30g for men and 20g for women in order to head off clogged arteries, obesity, heart attack and stroke.

Stein's creamy pudding weighs in at 36g of saturated fat per serving, putting it well above the daily ration.

The study, published in the Food and Public Health journal, found that many celebrity chef recipes in cookbooks contained 'undesirable levels' of saturated fatty acids (SFA), sugars and salt which are linked to obesity, diabetes and heart disease.



Nigella's most recent TV series and book for the BBC, Nigellissima, could see a follower eating the recommended maximum calorie count for an entire day in a single sitting

Lead author Dr Ricardo Costa, a senior lecturer in dietetics at Coventry University, explained the decision not to name the chefs and recipes that were examined.

'This study is not about naming and shaming celebrity chefs. However given the level of trust the public tends to place in the nutritional integrity of these cooks' recipes, it's important to highlight where they're falling short of healthy eating benchmarks,' he said.

'When you have celebrity chefs involved with promoting many of the Government's healthy eating initiatives, you inevitably encourage a culture of confidence in their culinary practices.

'I think there ought to be a tightening up of regulation around what these chefs can present on their own terms when it comes to nutrition or healthy eating messages, particularly in light of the results of this study.'

Some 92 per cent of celebrity chefs sampled had at least one recipe with saturated fatty acids above the recommended intake for one day, the study found.

One meal contained more than five times the recommended amount, while half of the chefs had recipes with salt content equalling or exceeding the daily recommended limit of 6g.

Researchers also found 96 per cent were high in saturated fat, while 65per cent had a high level of sugar.

Dr Costa added: 'If people regularly use the recipes found in these cookbooks, it could be that celebrity chefs are exacerbating public health nutrition issues in the UK.

'Our research is aiming to draw more focused attention towards the recipes of professional cooks in the public eye, and will hopefully prompt the chefs to consider working with qualified dietetic and nutritional professionals in the future to reverse their potential negative impact.'

The study's authors said evidence showed three-quarters of the public believed celebrity chefs promoted healthy eating.

The experts formed their list of famous chefs from the best-selling cookbooks on Amazon, as well as those listed on the Good Food Channel's website.

The study found that recipes from male celebrity chefs contained substantially more energy, macro-nutrients, sodium and salt per portion on average than their female counterparts.Nigella has said her weight is always likely to fluctuate. She tweets regularly on what she is eating and her daily diet appears to include a lot of healthy options, such as smoked salmon, rye bread, eggs, avocados, houmous and salad.

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