WARNING: Calorie counting menus 'USELESS in lowering obesity rates'

Despite nutrition labels obesity is on the rise in the UK

OBESITY is on the rise in the United Kingdom and research has found that food labelling will do nothing to combat the issue.

 

In 2013, the Health Survey for England (HSE) revealed around 62.1 per cent of adults were overweight or obese. By 2050 the obesity rates are predicted to rise from 24.9 per cent to 60 per cent for men, 24.9 per cent to 50 per cent for women - and most shockingly, 25 per cent of children.

Around the world, policymakers continue to believe people are unaware of calorie-rich foods. The assumption has been once people know what they are eating, they will make healthier choices.

 

From December 2016, in the UK nutrition labelling will be compulsory for all pre-packed products in accordance with European Union (EU) guidelines.

However, studies in the America suggest this will have little impact on increasing obesity rates.

The large American supermarket chain Wal-Mart introduced front-of-package labelling and even offered price reductions on healthier items but researchers found that it was not enough to change people’s buying behaviours.

Obesity rates in the US continue to rise with a forecast by the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation predicting half of U.S. adults will be obese by 2030.

 

Obesity is on the rise because of busy lifestyles

In New York menu calorie labels became mandatory in 2008; however, the sucess was short-lived with a more recent study from November finding fewer people notice these labels and they are often ignored.

The study also found the food items listed with the lowest calories were the most likely to be incorrect.

“It's important to remember that the labels are only as good as the individual cooks,” writes Aaron E. Carrol; a paediatrics professor at Indiana University School of Medicine, for the New York Times.

According to another study published in Journal of the American Medical Association about 20 percent of foods purchased had at least 100 more calories than reported.

 

Fewer people notice nutrition labels and they are often ignored

The US Department of Agriculture's Nutrition Evidence Library concluded "limited and inconsistent evidence exists to support an association between menu calorie labels and food selection or consumption."

Dr Susan Jebb of the UK Medical Research Council told the NHS “obesity is a consequence of the abundance and convenience of modern life as well as the human body's propensity to store fat.”