TV chef fears belt-tightening means bigger guts

LONDON Oliver says the U.K. faces a health crisis because millions of Britons can't cook basic meals. He wants the British government to offer cookery classes to low-income families to show them how to prepare cheap and healthy dishes during the credit crunch.

He told a British parliamentary committee Wednesday that those with tight budgets are likely to chose reliable but unhealthy foods - rather than experiment with recipes.

He said for the first time in history, many families live on takeaways because they can't cook.

The chef is campaigning to raise the standard of school meals.