Dan digs into healthy diet

Salads are the order of the day for Dan

The comic hero, Desperate Dan, is ditching his trademark cow pie and digging into salad sandwiches.

The Dandy star is being used in the battle of the bulge to promote healthier eating in his home city of Cactusville, known outside the comic's pages as Dundee.

About 10,000 schoolchildren are being asked to design a "Desperate Dan-wich" as part of a competition run by Healthy Dundee and the Sea Fish Industry Authority.

Dan has only tried fish once before when he tucked into a sardine sandwich but unfortunately he neglected to remove the tin

Morris Heggie
Dandy editor

The rules prohibit Dan from tucking into his traditional fat-rich goodies and force him to eat things like tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce fruit and fish.

Finalists will be invited to the Dundee Flower Show and Food Festival from 6-8 September where they will recreate their recipes.

The winning Dan-wich will be presented to the barrel-chested cowboy by the Dandy editor, Morris Heggie, in the next edition of the comic.

However, fans need not fear that Dan will waste away.

Setting an example

Mr Heggie said: "Dan has only tried fish once before when he tucked into a sardine sandwich but unfortunately he neglected to remove the tin.

"I think he recognises the need to vary his diet to improve his health and help him lose a little bit of weight but I wouldn't stand in the way of Dan and his favourite cow pies."

Cow pies are out

Anne Woodcock, of Health Dundee and NHS Tayside, said the competition would encourage his young fans to follow a better diet.

"Dan has a huge variety of wonderfully tasty and nutritious foods on his doorstep, including fruit, vegetables and sea fish.

"He will be setting a fine example to Cactusville kids by tucking into a Dan-wich regularly."

Desperate Dan has featured in virtually every edition of the Dandy since it was launched by Dundee-based publishers DC Thomson in 1937.

He has been immortalised in an eight-feet high bronze statue showing him striding across City Square stalked by a life-size version of The Beano prankster Minnie the Minx.