Billi Allen-Mandeville
TW: This article mentions eating disorders and calorie counting
As of 6th April 2022, the UK Government introduced new legislation making it mandatory for large restaurants, cafes and takeaways to display calorie information on menus and food labels.
What does the new legislation say?
As of July 2021, Parliament legislation was introduced to ‘level up’ the nation’s health and reduce obesity rates. The legislation aims to ensure people make more informed, healthier choices and to encourage businesses to provide lower-calorie options.
Specifically, businesses in England with over 250 employees must provide menus and food labels that display calorie information. Alongside this, they must also contain the message “adults need around 2000 kcal a day”.
According to the Government, such changes are vital following the Covid-19 Pandemic as obesity-related conditions cost the NHS £6.1 billion each year.
“These measures form an important building block in our strategy to support and encourage people in achieving and maintaining a healthier weight”. – Public Health Minister, Jo Churchill
What are calories?
A calorie is a measure of energy. The food and drink we consume contain calories and thus energy. To maintain our energy levels, we have to put the right amount of food into our bodies.
The calorie content is already displayed on the nutrition labels of pre-packaged foods. Many labels state the number of calories in 1 portion of food. However, the correct portion and thus nutritional information will differ from customer to customer.
NHS guidelines state that the “ideal daily intake of calories varies depending on age, metabolism and levels of physical activity, among other things”.
Criticism
In the UK, 1.25 million people in the UK have an eating disorder, with hospital admissions increasing by more than a third in 2020.
The UK’s Eating Disorder charity, Beat, tweeted saying they were “extremely disappointed” by the new legislation because “it causes anxiety for people affected by eating disorders” which “can increase fixations on restricting calories for anyone with anorexia or bulimia” and “increase feelings of guilt for anyone with binge eating disorder”.
They added that there is “very limited evidence that the legislation will improve our eating habits”.
Places to go for more information and support on the issues discussed:
Beat provides free telephone and online support for families and those experiencing an eating disorder: Advice for Eating Out with Calorie Labelling – Beat (beateatingdisorders.org.uk)
NHS Advice: How to help someone with an eating disorder – NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Mind: Treatment and support for eating problems – Mind
Featured image courtesy of Suad K via Unsplash. The image licence can be found here. No changes or alterations were made to this image.
Billi Allen-Mandeville
I am a recent Master of Public Policy Graduate, Advocate and blogger. I like to write current affairs and opinion pieces, especially those involving equality and inclusion news.
Thank you for this straightforward article explaining the case with clarity.