Calories on menus
You won’t lose weight by counting calories alone: England is at odds over new anti-obesity law
The costs of combating the consequences of obesity for the English healthcare system are estimated at around 7.3 billion euros annually (symbol image)
© Vadym Petrochenko / Getty Images
Restaurants over a certain size are now required to provide calorie information on menus in the UK. This not only ensures approval, but also fierce criticism.
England wants to fight obesity. Restaurants, cafes and takeaways with more than 250 employees are now required to display calorie counts for meals on their menus and websites.
The government has published instructions for this that contain information for the new regulation. Among other things, companies can use image examples in the document to see how calories should be displayed on a “per serving” basis, as summarized by the “Natlawreview” portal.
High treatment costs for consequences of obesity
The new law, passed by Parliament last year, comes as the coronavirus pandemic has put people suffering from obesity at increased risk of severe and fatal conditions. According to the government, almost 63 per cent of adults in England are overweight or living with obesity. Among children, 40 percent are obese or overweight by the time they leave elementary school. The costs for the English healthcare system are estimated at 6.1 billion pounds (approx. 7.3 billion euros) per year.
The government said requiring calorie information to be displayed could also encourage companies to offer healthier options. However, some experts are extremely critical of the measure. For Stuart Flint, associate professor of the psychology of obesity at the University of Leeds and director of the charity Obesity UK, the solution to the obesity problem is rather to make the entire food industry more stringent, he told the British The Guardian. .
“Just focusing on calories doesn’t really raise awareness. I think we’re actually taking a step back from what we’ve been doing for the last five to 10 years,” he said there are various factors that contribute to obesity,” he added, adding that “it would be better to focus attention on restricting food availability rather than just focusing on individuals making choices”. Mit nothing is gained from the mere presentation of the calories.
Lack of real evidence
While fast-food companies like McDonald’s and KFC are already listing calorie counts on their menus, Flint said there’s no “real evidence base” to understand how the new rule will affect or if anyone will change their eating habits as a result. Finally, there is no distinction between healthier and unhealthier calories, as this tweet from a critic of the new law impressively summarizes:
Another point of criticism is the possible impact of the new law on eating disorders such as bulimia. The permanent presence of calorie information could certainly lead to a re-triggering of a disruption that may already have been overcome, as some voices on Twitter comment on the amendment to the law:
Health Secretary Maggie Throup defended the government’s action: “It is crucial that we all have access to the information we need to maintain a healthier weight and that starts with knowing how high the calories in our food are. When shopping in We’re used to that in supermarkets, but that’s not the case when eating out or taking away.”
Swell: “Guardians”“Natlawreview“