Abolish thick sliced bread!

The award for the most inane government initiative being debated by politicians to address the “obesity epidemic” goes to the House of Lords. Thick bread slices, they believe, contribute to obesity. A Baroness has actually proposed mandating thinner sliced bread to trim waistlines.

As the Bolton News reported:

In the thick of it

[T]he House of Lords has been listening with interest to a call for thick slices of bread to be cut down to size. Thick bread equals thick waistlines, according to Baroness Gardener of Parkes, who told the Lords of her concern that the width of a standard slice was getting thicker. It was, she added, contributing to the problem of people becoming overweight and she wants to see a return to “normal" sized slices....

Baroness Gardener spoke during a House of Lords debate on childhood obesity.... Baroness Gardener said: “I speak as a member of the All-Party Group on Obesity. Why is it that in central London you can hardly find a thinly sliced or medium-sliced load of bread to buy, and any sandwich you buy in any supermarket is now made with thick bread?

“While the House of Lords continues to use medium-sliced bread - and very nice bread - in its sandwiches, even the House of Commons has moved to thick bread....

The second place award goes to the children’s minister. Looking at the other side of the “calories in - calories out” myth of obesity, she has blamed MySpace for increasing childhood obesity. Such social networking websites, she believes, take kids away from perpetual activity necessary to keep them from getting fat.

MySpace 'link to child obesity'

Obesity is on the rise among children because they are being pushed out of the playground and towards a virtual existence of computer games and social networking websites, a minister warned yesterday. Beverley Hughes, the children's minister, said youngsters are being driven away from outdoor activity by over-protective parents, the risk from increased traffic and inadequate play areas.

Speaking at the launch of a report on children's facilities...Hughes called for local authorities and parents to encourage outdoor play as a way to develop independence, confidence and resilience among children. “Intensely realistic computer games and social networking sites like MySpace are examples of how technology can be a pull factor for children and young people, encouraging them to stay indoors, not just when the weather is bad but pretty much all of the time."...

What will they think of next? :)