Edwina Currie has come under fire for seeming to suggest a report that millions of UK children are at risk of going hungry is wrong because there is a “national epidemic of child obesity”.
The former Conservative MP was referencing a warning sent out by a cross-party group of MPs and peers about what children eat over the school holidays, citing evidence of kids surviving on a diet of crisps and other unhealthy food when school canteens are shut.
Currie asked her followers: “How can ’3 million UK children be going hungry in the holidays’ when there’s a national epidemic of child obesity? Eh?”
How can "3 million UK children be going hungry in the holidays" when there's a national epidemic of child obesity? Eh?
— Edwina Currie (@Edwina_Currie) April 24, 2017
Some people chose to reply by pointing out some obvious information, as well as providing some reasons for the complex situation.
@Edwina_Currie The thing is Edwina, there's actually quite a lot of children in the UK and they don't all live in the same house.
— Andrew Ellis (@Ellis_Samizdat) April 24, 2017
.@Edwina_Currie Maybe they're different children, Edwina? Hope this helps.
— Rick Burin (@rickburin) April 24, 2017
@Edwina_Currie What is main cause for child obesity? Cheap junk food because most cannot afford healthy food even inorganic so report sounds spot on.
— Zahir Ahmed (@akalionrule) April 24, 2017
@AugusTyme @akalionrule @Edwina_Currie Working class families have either no money or no time, often both. Not only is junk food cheaper, it's quicker to prepare.
— Matt Wilson (@mattwilson_g) April 24, 2017
But the main response has been mockery, with many posing similarly framed questions back to her.
@Edwina_Currie how can we have daylight but also night time!?
— blunderball (@blunderball1) April 24, 2017
@Edwina_Currie How can I be thirsty when there are swimming pools???????
— Shafik Mandhai (@ShafikFM) April 24, 2017
@Edwina_Currie How can I be cold when the Sahara is hot, Eh?
— brian lucey (@brianmlucey) April 25, 2017
@Edwina_Currie You're right Edwina. And whilst I think about it, if life expectancy in UK is 80 years why are some people dead at 30?
— The Concept Of Evil (@concept_of_evil) April 24, 2017
@Edwina_Currie How can some people have lots of money and others no money?
— Christopher John (@Moley1985) April 24, 2017
The all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on hunger suggested Whitehall should place a duty on councils to work with schools, churches, community groups and businesses to tackle the issue.
The latest UK child obesity figures for 2015/16 from Public Health England show that 19.8% of children in Year 6 (aged 10-11) were obese and a further 14.3% were overweight. Children in Reception (aged 4-5) sat at 9.3% for obesity, with another 12.8% overweight.