TV chef and obesity campaigner Jamie Oliver hires personal trainer after revealing he is overweight

  • The Naked Chef has enlisted Jamie Sawyer to help shift the excess pounds 
  • He said: ‘I was always in good nick…and then I started to get a little too chunky’
  • Dad-of-five’s new health kick is in line with a wider campaign to tackle obesity
  • He has launched a campaign to ban fast food advertising before 9pm watershed

Battle of the bulge: Jamie Oliver has revealed he is a stone heavier than he should be

He’s used to throwing his weight behind campaigns to improve the nation’s eating habits.

But it seems that weight has become heftier than TV chef Jamie Oliver would like, after revealing he has hired a celebrity trainer to help him shift the excess pounds.

The Naked Chef’s close friend Jamie Sawyer has been enlisted in his own personal battle against the bulge.

Speaking to The Sunday Mirror, he said: ‘I am four kilos… six kilos… heavier than I should be.

‘I will get rid of it in the next couple of months. I was always active as a kid and in pretty good nick until maybe the beginning of my 30s.

‘And then I started to get just a little bit too chunky.’

The father-of-five’s new health kick is in line with a wider ambition to pressure the Government into delivering a proper strategy to beat childhood obesity.

He recently unveiled a manifesto covering everything from food labelling to GP training, better catering for hospital workers and properly banning the sale of energy drinks to under-16s. 

Jamie, who is said to be worth an estimated £240million, is also campaigning for a ban on advertising junk food prior to the 9pm watershed. 

Jamie pictured aged 25 in 2001, and right, looking a little heftier in 2013, aged 37
Jamie pictured aged 25 in 2001, and right, looking a little heftier in 2013, aged 37

Jamie pictured aged 25 in 2001, and right, looking a little heftier in 2013, aged 37

In a post on his website, the 42-year-old chef wrote: ‘It’s time we put child health first. I’m calling for the government to introduce a 9pm watershed on junk food advertising on TV, and for proper controls on what ads kids see online, in the street and on public transport.

‘Crucially, this campaign isn’t about stopping big brands from advertising full stop; it’s about making sure kids aren’t being targeted with unhealthy products.

‘It’s about controlling the time and place.’ 

Jamie Oliver has long promoted healthy food in a bid to tackle rising childhood obesity 

Jamie Oliver has long promoted healthy food in a bid to tackle rising childhood obesity 

And earlier this week, the restaurant entrepreneur backed a joint letter written to the Prime Minister urging her to do more to tackle the nation’s obesity crisis.

The cross-party letter, signed by Jeremy Corbyn, Nicola Sturgeon, Sir Vince Cable, Caroline Lucas and Jonathan Bartley urge Theresa May to ‘take bold action to tackle one of the greatest health challenges of our time’.

They call for 13 measures, including an end to buy-one-get-one free junk food deals. 

JAMIE’S MANIFESTO FOR BEATING CHILDHOOD OBESITY 

  • Ban TV ads for food and drinks that are high in salt, fat or sugar before the 9pm watershed. Restrict advertising on social media, billboards, bus stops and sports stadiums as well as outside schools. Ban the use of cartoon characters and celebrities to promote these foods. Ban cheap promotions that encourage people to buy them. 
  • Expand the sugar tax to cover more products.
  • Set compulsory targets for sugar and calorie reduction in food and drink.
  • Ban the sale of energy drinks to anyone under 16, requiring ID.
  • After Brexit, bring in new, clearer colour-coded pack labels so no food high in salt, fat or sugar can be sold as a healthy alternative.
  • Enforce proper food standards for all school meals, across the age range, monitored by Ofsted.
  • Compulsory training for GPs on aspects of nutrition, with patients weighed at every visit.
  • More support for national programmes to measure and weigh children.
  • Improve catering in public buildings so there are healthy options, particularly for shift workers and NHS staff.
  • New powers for local authorities to limit hot food takeaways near schools. 
  • New Government target to halve childhood obesity by 2030. 

 

 

  

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