Couch potatoes under attack
Ahead of the footy party season, leading nutritionist Zoe Bingley-Pullin has warned couch-potato fans against ‘heart-attack’ snacking and urged footy supporters to make healthy choices to beat the battle of bulge.
“Traditionally footy fans get together for a few beers, eat fatty junk food and settle down for a night on the lounge to watch the big game,” says Bingley-Pullin, who advises Avocados Australia.
“If you have an active lifestyle, there’s nothing wrong with enjoying a night in. But if couch-bound entertainment and snacking is a regular occurrence, then footy fans are putting their health at risk,” she says.
According to Bingley-Pullin, a diet high in fat and low in exercise poses a major health risk. She says, “There is no doubt that Australian couch potatoes are putting themselves at risk of Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and a range of other illnesses.
“But with a few changes to their diet, footy fans can improve their health without losing out on their enjoyment of the game. Be mindful of making good snacking choices such as swapping ‘pies and hot chips’ for healthy, energy-loaded snacks like guacamole,” she says.
A regular serve of hot chips (147g) has a total of 1510kj, 14.5g of fat of which 6.5g is saturated fat. Add to that a meat pie (175g) with a total of 1803kj, 23.1g of fat of which 13g is saturated.
In contrast, Australian Avocados’ guacamole recipe (see recipe below) has mainly fat free ingredients with only 268kj and 5.85g of fat (0.85 saturated) coming from healthy monounsaturated fats that are found in avocado. A great accompaniment to guacamole is a serve of toasted ciabatta with 310kj and 0.8g of fat of which just 0.35g is saturated.[1]
When it comes to which dish Aussie footy fans will opt to serve up at this year’s footy party, their try-scoring choice is an avocado and basil bruschetta according to results of the NRL One Community avocado recipe competition.
The recipe competition is a dual initiative of growers group, Avocados Australia and Rugby League’s One Community ‘Eat Well, Play Well, Stay Well’ health program which encourages children to lead a healthy and active lifestyle. The program harnesses the inspirational power of Rugby League heroes.
All NRL clubs nominated a healthy avocado recipe and footy fans voted for their favourite recipe . Michael Hodgson’s “Bulldog Bruschetta”; an avocado and basil bruschetta dish, was selected by fans after securing 24% of the total votes. As a result, the Club will receive much needed cash as the winner to put towards their community and health programs.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics recently announced that the number of obese boys had doubled in the past ten years.
“Young boys need role models who can teach them about combining exercise, healthy snacking and a love of the game. It’s wonderful to see NRL players leading the charge,” says Bingley-Pullin.
“Parents need to teach their kids about healthy eating and that starts at home. What better way to set an example than eating healthy snacks with family and friends during the big game?”
Bingley-Pullin believes Australian football fans could learn from their American counterparts who commonly eat healthy guacamole whilst watching football.
On Super Bowl Sunday alone, more than 10 million kilos of avocados are consumed as Americans swap fatty snacks for healthy guacamole. In Australia, avocados and football share the same ‘season’.
