Let them eat cake?
Image: Paul Maguire
Calorie counts are now added to menus in big pub, fast food, cafe and restaurant chains across England – but is this a good idea? Will it tackle a worsening obesity crisis in the UK and push consumers towards making more informed, healthier choices when eating out or ordering takeaways?
The new law requires non-prepacked food and soft drinks to have the calories they contain signposted by businesses that have more than 250 employees.
While I can see the thinking behind the measure, keeping track of calories isn’t what many people want to do when eating out unless they’ve a specific goal in mind.
You have to consider how much energy you’re consuming, if you want to remain within the NHS’s recommended limits of 2,000 calories a day if you’re a woman and 2,500 if you’re a man – although highly active people can consume more.
This is a complex issue. Calorie counts simply aren’t enough to tackle obesity on their own.
I echo The British Nutrition Foundation’s praise when saying the move could help support the public “to make healthier choices”. Even a small reduction in calories is welcome to help with maintaining a healthy weight. It can also encourage customers to be picky about their chosen meal, the portion size of foods and drinks that they buy or motivate them to select healthier meals.
But, I want to be convinced how giving customers more information on the calorie content of what they are buying is going to have an impact on obesity.
Displaying calories on menus is an oversimplified solution to a complex issue we have been battling for some time. Losing weight has never been as simple as cutting calories. There are many factors that determine how calories are processed in the body, including body composition, metabolism, stress levels, sleep and even the topic of now – gut health. Not losing sight of physiological and psychological factors. Eating out is also highly pleasurable and a fundamental part of what makes us social animals.
It is crucial that all of us have access to the information we need to maintain a healthier weight, and this starts with nutrition education. Where assistance is needed beyond these fundamentals is how to incorporate nutritional information in day-to-day cooking. Hands-on nutritional education is key. If we have an idea from our own kitchens, we may see things differently when out and about.
As part of efforts to tackle disparities and level up the nation’s health, the measures are an important building block to making it as easy as possible for people to make healthier food choices. The labelling has to be a useful way of promoting moderation, as well as making consumers think more carefully about balancing their diet. I’m sure the food and drink industry can, and will, play its part.
- Rodney Jack, editor, Food & Drink Technology.
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