‘Unhealthy’ Meal Deals should be BANNED warns health expert in bid to battle country’s obesity crisis

‘UNHEALTHY’ Meal Deals should be BANNED in a bid to battle the UK’s obesity crisis, a health expert has warned.

It comes as Britain is on course to become the fattest nation in Europe by 2033 fuelled by our eating habits.

A damning report last week warned levels of flab will rocket by a third in a decade — with nearly four in ten adults obese.

The UK currently holds the title as the tubbiest nation in Western Europe, with 27.8 per cent of Brits dangerously overweight.

Now in an attempt to ditch Brits’ guzzling habits health expert Dr. Donal O'Shea has said stores like Tesco, M&S, Sainsbury's, ASDA and Morrisons should be banned from selling Meal Deals.

He claims they only ever contain solely unhealthy food options and "literally should be illegal.”

He told The Pat Kenny Show: "The industry has the statistics and they know how to prompt and promote consumption, and 70% of people will say no the first time, but if the person behind the counter says 'well are you sure? it's a good offer'. Then another 30% will say 'ah yeah, go on'.

"They are actually trained because the industry has the stats and they know how to prompt and they know how to promote consumption. We just have to be super aware of that and try to resist it.

"Those buy one get one free offers are always around the high fat, high salt, high sugar stuff, never around fruit.”

It comes as barmy plans to ban buy one get one free deals on junk food were yesterday ditched in a huge victory for The Sun.

Nanny state proposals to make it illegal to advertise sugary treats on telly before 9pm were also shelved after a massive backlash.

And restrictions on free refills of fizzy drinks have been torn up.

The move is the first major announcement to ease the cost of living crisis for struggling families.

Ministers said the plans had been shelved for a year amid growing fears of a global economic slump.

But Government insiders reckon they have been scrapped for good.

Public Health Minister Maggie Throup said: “We’re committed to doing everything we can to help people live healthier lives.

“Pausing restrictions on deals like buy one get one free will allow us to understand its impact on consumers in light of an unprecedented global economic situation.”

A Department of Health spokesperson said: “We are currently delivering an ambitious programme to halve childhood obesity by 2030 by motivating people to choose healthier food options.

“Obesity costs the NHS more than £6 billion a year and tackling the issue will save billions of pounds, helping to put it on a sustainable financial footing as we work to recover and reform the healthcare system.”