Forcing children to finish meals could be fuelling obesity crisis
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children need portion sizes that reflect their body size. Parents forcing their children to finish their dinner may be fuelling Britain’s obesity crisis, nutritionists have warned. Large food portions for children may be fuelling Britain’s obesity crisis, with more than a third of parents making youngsters always finish their meals, nutritionists have warned.
![[Large food portions for children may be fuelling Britain’s obesity crisis]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/14/17/01JHJKM4ZJRCH79D075TERCDJG.jpg)
A new poll for the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF) found 37% of parents always or often make their children eat everything on their plate, with a further 23% sometimes insisting children finish everything they are served. Nearly half (48%) of parents said their children have second helpings at least once a week, while many rely on their own estimates when serving portion sizes for their offspring.
The YouGov poll of 1,065 parents of children under 18 also found 32% only sometimes or rarely feel confident about choosing the right amount of food, with 63% feeling confident. The poll further found that 7% of parents with children aged four and under and 11% of those with children aged five to 11 give their children the same portion sizes as they give to themselves.
Meanwhile, 15% measure portions while 14% follow package instructions. When thinking about how much their children should eat, 51% of parents said they judged portion sizes based on how much their youngsters usually eat, while 16% let their children serve their own portions.
Bridget Benelam, nutrition communications manager for the BNF, said: “In England, about a quarter of adults are living with obesity and 37.9% are classified as overweight, while over a fifth of 10 to 11-year-old children are classified as living with obesity.
