NSW Liberal MP Peter Phelps has labelled Jamie Oliver a "tosser" after the celebrity chef criticised the politician's claims that an obesity epidemic in Australia is a "myth".
The hugely popular British TV host, author and healthy eating advocate - in Australia on a whirlwind tour to relaunch his Jamie's Italian restaurant chain - was reacting to comments made by Mr Phelps in Parliament earlier this week where he criticised the state government's new healthy school canteen strategy.
"These bloody politicians that are like ships that pass in the night they're not necessarily expert in anything," Oliver said.
"They've possibly never even run a f-----g business. If they're entrusted with the responsibility to represent the community, the very least they can do is go and talk to a GP, a doctor, a bariatric surgeon, [or] a podiatrist that takes limbs off people because they've got type II diabetes."
Oliver has been running his Jamie's Ministry of Food community program across Australia since 2006 and has educated 36,000 people in better nutrition over that time. He said the cost of obesity and diet-related illness directly through healthcare will be $6.5 billion in Australia this year.
"It doesn't sound to me like he's quoting things based on science, it doesn't sound to me like he's spoken to a doctor or a pediatrician and the World Health Organisation is not saying that about Australia. It's not a f-----g myth," Oliver said.
Mr Phelps told Fairfax Media that according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the proportion of overweight children had remained at about one in four over the past 20 years. He said obesity had increased slightly from 5 per cent to 8 per cent over that time which had been credited to the increase in more sedentary recreation such as gaming.
"The idea that there is now this new sudden crisis in child obesity is simply factually wrong," said Mr Phelps. "I think people are generally sick and tired of middle-class health professionals going around trying to tell working-class parents how to raise their children and that they should pull their heads in until they see the true statistics from NSW and Australia."
Asked whether his comment applied to Oliver, Mr Phelps responded: "It's directed to him and to all other tossers, and you can use the phrase tossers because he will understand that."
