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Children should be taught six staple dishes at school to prepare them for student life and help tackle the obesity crisis, according to celebrity chef Paul Rankin.

Rankin has been touring universities as part of a healthy eating initiative run by Sodexo Education, which aims to educate students about nutrition and healthy living.

Whilst on a tour of food outlets at Birmingham City University, Paul Rankin, said: “Most kids don’t know how to cook anything. In my opinion the medical community is not doing enough about the obesity issue and it appears to be getting worse and worse.

“We need to get over the fact that being reckless with your diet during your short time at university is okay. Bad eating habits have major health implications, not just for two or three years, but for decades. This is where issues such as obesity, diabetes, heart, joint and back pain occur. Not eating properly can ruin your life.

“Food is our fuel and this machine - the human body - is more special than a space rocket or a Ferrari; if you put the wrong fuel into any machine it’s not going to work right.”

Students from the University were pitted against the king of the Saturday Kitchen ‘Omelette Challenge’ and had a go at cracking the eggs under Chef Rankin’s watchful eye.

During the challenge the chef was not surprised to hear that some students had close to no cooking skills and had never made an omelette before.

According to latest figures, 10% of four to five-year-olds in the UK are classified as obese, with this growing to 20% by the time they leave primary school. Around 40% of overweight children will continue to have increased weight during adolescence and 75-80% of obese adolescents will become obese adults.