Tay Ping Hui: I was a fat kid

SINGAPORE – Everyone has a past and actor Tay Ping Hui is not afraid to talk about it.

When he was 12, he measured 32 inches around the waist and weighed about 60kg.

He was slightly overweight then and had self-esteem issues too.

While the 46-year-old celebrity did not elaborate on that, one thing was for sure – he was determined to shed the excess weight and adopt a healthier lifestyle.

“When I was in primary school, I was actually a fat kid. I consumed too much junk food that was easily available to us,” Tay shared.

So when he was in Sec 1, the actor began to monitor his food intake and exercise a lot, the actor told AsiaOne at an event at Raffles’ Girls Primary School on Friday (May 19).

Tay was present at the school for a canteen takover by Jamie’s Italian in support of Food Revolution, a campaign aimed at combating child obesity and celebrating the importance of eating well.

As early as 6.30am, staff from Jamie’s Italian began food preparations to feed 1,800 students from the school.

Students were each treated to a pasta dish with a ‘secret seven’ sauce and some fruit.

*A banner of Food Revolution 2017 in the school canteen.*Photo: AsiaOne, Alvin Kosasi

“We’re eating a lot of processed food (and) foods that are very high in sugar and fats. So I think it would be good for Food Revolution to introduce to students that good-tasting food can also be natural and good for us,” Tay said.

It is no secret that young kids do not like to eat vegetables and it often requires a tremendous amount of effort to make them eat their veggies.

Revealing that the ‘secret seven’ sauce is made up of seven types of vegetables, Tay shared that by incorporating vegetables into something palatable like the pasta, children would be able to eat vegetables with fiber and all the nutrients in them, without being fully aware of it.