CRUNCH TIME!

The war against obesity has been launched by a Bahraini nutritionist who believes her ‘no nonsense’ book on the subject will help children in the kingdom live longer, healthier and thrive in the classroom.

She also makes a stinging criticism on the dairy industry urging cow’s milk to be abandoned from the age of three and also highlights some of the nonsense written on food labels.

Mother-of-two Alia Almoayed, 31, from Hamala, said: “A child who has always been called sweet and chubby is no longer cute when he can barely walk. As parents we have to lead by example.

“As long as children are growing vertically it’s fine. If they grow sideways, be alert and do something. Healthy parents equals healthy kids.

“Spread your good habits to everyone else through schools, parents and grandparents, neighbours, friends – everyone.”

Similar playground chats inspired her to pen I Want Healthy Kids after numerous playgroup parents sought her advice.

“I was suddenly exposed to play schools with all sorts of children – hyperactive, moody and so on,” she explained.

“There was a constant virus going around. As a nutritionist I could see that the problem lay in the kid’s diet. Soon I was advising mothers, teachers, friends both professionally and casually.

“I found a pattern and felt that I was repeating myself. I decided to spread the word and as an individual, make a difference.”

In her colourfully laid out book, Alia packs in 174 pages of expert advice, do’s and don’ts, alternatives, recipes, tips and solutions. “Ultimately,” she said, “what we want is a whole generation of healthy kids.”