Obesity.

Probably none, as they won't have the staff trained in the subject, however my daughter school in Scotland offered its sixth years a module called cooking on a budget aimed at feeding themselves on a student grant. This was in the 90's

I agree that sounds like an ideal, Mabel. But which schools are going to accept that now?

Fennel, I went to school in the UK.

Which country was that in, Mabel2 ?
It sounds like the old Mrs. Beeton book used to have .

At my high school we learnt not only how to cook, but how to sew, clean, care for a baby and care for as they called it 'an invalid'. This was in the 70's. It wasn't just cakes we made either, we cooked full meals which were then served to the staff. The sewing wasn't just fancy stuff either, we made items of clothing for ourselves and the local hospital baby unit. We learnt to wash by hand and machine and how to clean a house from top to bottom. The fact that we were also taught how to hire and fire staff may tell you it was a private school. But it was all fitted in with all the other required subjects, with us taking 3 seperate science subjects and up to 4 languages. If it could be done then, why not now with the combined science curriculum, combination of English literature and language etc?
It seems kids are sadly lacking in life skills, even the armed forces have changed to duvets instead of teaching recruits to make a bed as too many didn't have a clue.

Fennel, yes, I know what you mean. It is overwhelming. I have a rule, in a supermarket, of not buying anything the first time I see it. Note it, go away and then factor it into the next weeks meal plan.

It is surprising how often I never do buy it.

M0nica I meant ingredients. not so much the ready meals.
all the sauces, types of pasta, breads and cakes. Not to mention the huge range of fruit and veg and rubbish snack foods and drinks.

I have yet to eat a ready meal that wasn't deeply disappointing when tasted.

For a number of years, after an elderly relation went into care, I would drive some distance to visit them and check on the house and garden and then go to Sainsbury's to buy a ready meal in the to eat at the house before driving home after the rush hour. Generally I would walk along the aisle of ready meals, feeling less and less hungry as I looked at this huge varied range of meals, knowing everyone would be a disappointment if I bought it and I most times I would end up with a pack of sandwiches and some fruit. The sandwiches weren't much cop either.

So much else that has to be in the curriculum. Time is an issue with Food Tech. To make pizza dough & a tomato sauce from scratch, assemble and bake the pizza & leave kitchen ready for the next class with novices takes quite a long time!

Another aspect - the huge choice of attractive looking foods in the supermarkets. It feeds the national obsession with food, but what can be done about it? It's big business.
People (including me) walk around Tesco in a sort of trance.And realise we can indeed afford these exotic meals.

My mother was an excellent cook, but she preferred to have the kitchen to herself when she was cooking. My DF would always try and help and would set to the menial tasks like chopping veg and peeling potatoes. After she died, he watched Delia Smith and branched out to become a very good cook in his own right.

But us children? We were shooed out of the kitchen. But brought up in delicious food well prepared, when we left home, we very quickly taught ourselves to cook, to continue to eat at the level we were accustomed to.

Why does cooking etc have to be taught in school?
Surely parents and grandparents have a great deal to teach the younger generation.

I do agree cooking healthy meals should be taught in school, but I don’t think it’s a cure to obesity - at least not in many cases. I’m overweight with a young child at home and I know very well how to cook healthy meals. But I binge ate crap whilst I was on maternity leave and feeling pretty low with my change in circumstances, and I haven’t stopped. I also think there’s such an overwhelming number of choices to be made and expectation from life today that so many people are mentally exhausted from decision making, so they may have a pocket of time but just no mental energy left to change unhealthy habits. Obesity is a much more complex issue than just knowing how to cook.

I love food, new flavours, new recipes, therefore I cook. Over the years I have collected lots of recipes that are quick and easy to prepare to minimise the time I spend preparing food.

oldgimmerI cannot see the problem in calculating the calorie value of home-cooked food. All that is needed, to begin with, is scales and a calorie book. You quickly learn to gauge the weight of ingredients and remember the calorie value. I recheck now and again.

And what's lack of home cooking skills got to do with obesity? The answer is everything. If you can cook you can adapt and change recipes to reduce fat and sugar, increase the proportions of vegetables and legumes and ensure that family members are getting a balanced diet.

Far from having to eat only small quantities of home cooking, you should be able to eat bigger quantities of it because you know that it is lower calorie and more nutritious than the bought equivalent.

I have a much simpler guide to eating, which also has me as a size 10. Eat well, not too much most of it plants. Then relax, eat three meals a day and forget about feeling hungry.

og1, well said except for the embrace hunger. I find that silly. I no longer cook since there's only me and I'm very happy with snacking and I count nothing. Well done on your current weight loss too.

I have been cooking and baking 'from scratch' since I was about 7 years old, first as my mother's assistant and then DSc up to 'O' level at Grammar School. It carried on through marriage and children and now for DGC. I even blended meals and froze them for their mums when they were babies. They all love it but to be quite honest I'm sick of it. It's tedious and boring, especially the preparation, clearing up and washing up. At 71 if I never had to prepare or cook a meal again I'd be happy!!

Today, as a treat, I did pancakes with honey and/or Nutella. DGD said they used to have them with mummy but they were too expensive so they don't have them now. They are only eggs, flour and milk but of course Mummy bought them from MacDonalds!! (I'm making Yorkshire puddings tomorrow with the rest of the mix!).

I love cooking , can’t indulge my cheffy side as much as I’d like though , or I’d weigh as much as the previous three Americans??‍?

One in three Americans weighs more than the other two.

I like that.

I'm embracing hunger right now. DH is eating crisps and it's driving me mad.

Blimey oldgimmer "embrace hunger". I don't function well with low blood sugar. Still good luck to you in your unvain size 10 jeans.

My son is in second year at high school. Last year there were no lessons in Home Economics as there were no teachers. This year he gets one 50min lesson per week. His first practical lesson was to make a pizza - he was quite excited as he enjoys cooking at home. He was less than enthusiastic when he arrived home with his 'pizza' - a tortilla wrap topped with tomato sauce (which was ready made and rationed out by the teacher) and some cheese and herbs. I can't believe that more time is not assigned to such a vital skill and this would be a great way to show how to eat healthily and cheaply and how to budget for and plan a weekly shop etc. Moreover I can't believe I have to pay £5 per term towards the 'ingredients for this kind of thing.

Here's another statistic to worry about!
Read, digest and beware!

One in three Americans weighs more than the other two. OoRoo

pixie we need to eat, but we DON'T need to cook, do we?

And what's lack of home cooking skills got to do with obesity?

I cook and actually quite good at it (insert smug old gimmer emoji here).

But it's a chore and I can't be a..sed a lot of the time. I'm working full time like many mothers.

I have a daughter still at home though so feel I have to.

I'm a weightwatcher and I actively avoid my home cooking because I haven't a clue how many calories it contains.

My own philosophy is:

- no breakfast.
- count everything.
- tiny portions of home cooking.
- embrace hunger.
- a little of what you fancy.

I've lost a stone and a half, am fit (ish), and a size 10 in today's (vanity) sizing.

People are deluded about size and weight. We need to get a grip as a society.

Particularly us oldies.

Yes of course children should be involved in cooking at home but my point is that THEIR mothers do not know how or can't be bothered to cook. So where else are they going to learn - following a recipe isn't too hard but you really need the basics to get started - school lessons could provide this instead of all the guff they seem to be taught now-a-days. Every one has to eat!

Like Mamie I can say I can honestly say that the little I learnt at school has had no impact at all on my life, My DM preferred to have the kitchen to herself so I didn't learn at home either. But I love food and acquired several cook books, copies of favourite recipes from home and I was away.

It is not that difficult to cook, often quicker, easier and less effort than heating through ready meals, ordering and waiting for a take away or going out to buy fast food - and so much cheaper.

Cooking and nutrition have continued to be taught in schools under various titles. I disagreed with some aspects of the old DT curriculum, but the current Food Tech one seems reasonable to me.
www.gov.uk/government/publications/food-teaching-in-secondary-schools-knowledge-and-skills-framework
My GDs have learnt the basics and produced some good dishes with healthy ingredients.
I do think that it is a parental responsibility to cook and to teach children to cook. I think people have got too dependent on pre-prepared ingredients and ready meals and the power of the food industry has had far too much influence on successive governments.
I have every sympathy for people struggling in food poverty and without access to decent ingredients, but like others on here we managed to work full time and cook for our family. Both our adult children are good cooks and the grandchildren enjoy it too. I can honestly say that the little I learnt at school has had no impact at all on my life. Recipe books, television programmes and now the internet have been primary sources.