Tay Ping Hui was a "fat kid" with self-esteem issues

Alvin Kosasi
AsiaOne
​Friday, May 19, 2017

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's 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 Secondary 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 takeover by Jamie's Italia ;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.

"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 pasta, children can eat vegetables with fiber and all the nutrients in them, without being fully aware of it.

How's it done? The actor, who is also an avid cook, shows how the pasta is prepared on his Twitter account.

So does Tay still have char kway teow these days? He does, but "as long as it is not too often".

akosasi@sph.com.sg