London - Celebrity chefs are encouraging people to eat dishes packed with fat, worsening the obesity crisis, a study has warned.
Nutrition experts tested more than 900 recipes from 26 high-profile cooks and found 87 percent fell “substantially short” of official advice.
Only a small percentage had ingredients for a healthy meal based on guidelines from the Food Standards Agency.
Researchers from Coventry University refused to “name and shame” the chefs but said they are household names.
They said many of their dishes contained “undesirable levels” of saturated fatty acids, sugars and salt.
Lead author Dr Ricardo Costa said the public trust in the chefs meant it was “important to highlight where they’re falling short of healthy eating benchmarks”.
Previous studies have shamed Nigella Lawson, Rick Stein, Jean-Christophe Novelli and John Burton-Race.
Costa, a senior lecturer in dietetics at Coventry University, explained the decision not to name the chefs and recipes that were examined.
“This study is not about naming and shaming celebrity chefs. However given the level of trust the public tends to place in the nutritional integrity of these cooks' recipes, it's important to highlight where they're falling short of healthy eating benchmarks,” he said.
“When you have celebrity chefs involved with promoting many of the Government's healthy eating initiatives, you inevitably encourage a culture of confidence in their culinary practices.
“I think there ought to be a tightening up of regulation around what these chefs can present on their own terms when it comes to nutrition or healthy eating messages, particularly in light of the results of this study.'“
About 92 percent of celebrity chefs sampled had at least one recipe with saturated fatty acids above the recommended intake for one day, the study found.
One meal contained more than five times the recommended amount, while half of the chefs had recipes with salt content equalling or exceeding the daily recommended limit of 6g.
Researchers also found 96 percent were high in saturated fat, while 65 percent had a high level of sugar.
Dr Costa added: “If people regularly use the recipes found in these cookbooks, it could be that celebrity chefs are exacerbating public health nutrition issues in the UK.
“Our research is aiming to draw more focused attention towards the recipes of professional cooks in the public eye, and will hopefully prompt the chefs to consider working with qualified dietetic and nutritional professionals in the future to reverse their potential negative impact.'“
The study's authors said evidence showed three-quarters of the public believed celebrity chefs promoted healthy eating.
The experts formed their list of famous chefs from the best-selling cookbooks on Amazon, as well as those listed on the Good Food Channel's website.
The study found that recipes from male celebrity chefs contained substantially more energy, macro-nutrients, sodium and salt per portion on average than their female counterparts.
The study was published in the Food and Public Health journal, the Independent reports. - Daily Mail