Michelle Bridges

Scored myself a tour of the Charles Perkins Centre, a research and education hub at the University of Sydney, the other day. And although I am constantly trumpeting and will continue to trumpet the "eat less and move more" mantra, I reckon this research facility could be the most important obesity initiative we've seen in this country. Because our obesity crisis isn't simply the result of our eating more and moving less, it's a perfect storm of circumstances that have combined to put the human race (in the Western world at least) in a foodscape that is unique in its history.

In the same way that a child being overweight isn't the child's issue but the family's issue, our obesity crisis shouldn't rest with the individual, but with all of us as a community. And our community is made up of lots of elements, all of which play a part in the looming "diabetes tsunami".

Michelle Bridges: "Our obesity crisis shouldn't rest with the individual, but with all of us as a community."Credit: Ellis Parrinder

It's more complex than junk food fattening us up and TV remotes sitting us down. It's about the design of our buildings and public spaces. It's about how we grow, advertise and market our food. It's about our mental health and its relationship to weight, nutrition and exercise. We can't overlook the economics of food, its distribution and availability. Nor can we ignore the social dialogue around body image.

As Professor Steve Simpson, the academic director of the Centre, says, "It is becoming increasingly clear that there is no single, simple solution for the crisis posed by our skyrocketing rates of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and related conditions."

Chicken salad.Credit: Henryk Lobaczewski

And that's why this place rocks. This multidisciplinary centre will house 900 health scientists, marketers, agriculturalists, economists, philosophers, architects, educators and economists, who will work to find integrated solutions and will grab this problem by the throat and educate others to continue the fight.

Michelle's tip
Take a scientific approach to your own personal environment and see how it could be improved.

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QUICK & HEALTHY WITH MICHELLE

Chicken salad

The mixture of peas and beans gives heaps of fibre and iron, while the chicken offers a meaty texture without overloading the kilojoule count. Add the delicious dressing and you've got one hell of a tasty salad.

SERVES 2

250g skinless chicken breast, trimmed

freshly ground black pepper

olive oil spray

100g green beans, trimmed

100g snow peas, trimmed

½ cup frozen peas

400g can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

For the dressing

¼ cup no-fat Greek-style yoghurt

¼ cup fresh mint leaves

½ clove garlic

Season the chicken with black pepper. Lightly spray a char-grill pan with olive oil and heat on medium-high. Cook the chicken for 4-5 minutes each side or until lightly charred and cooked through.

Meanwhile, cook the green beans in a medium saucepan of boiling water for 4 minutes, adding the snow peas and frozen peas for the last 2 minutes. Drain and cool in iced water. Drain again.

For the dressing, process the yoghurt, mint and garlic together until smooth.

Thickly slice the chicken. Arrange the two types of beans, peas and chicken on a serving plate. Drizzle the dressing over the chicken and the vegetables.

Recipe from Superfoods Cookbook (Viking) by Michelle Bridges.