Takeaway Britain

We get a QUARTER of our calories from food that we don’t make at home

ORDERING a takeaway was once an occasional luxury – a way of celebrating a special occasion or treating the family.

But it is now so common that a quarter of all the calories we consume come from food produced outside the home, experts have revealed.

The figures include all out- ofhome sources of ready-to-eat food, such as cafes, takeaways, supermarkets, vending machines and convenience stores.

And as people tend to eat more when they dine out or have food delivered, the trend is having a big impact on the obesity crisis, they warn.

Officials are drawing up guidelines aimed at drastically cutting calories in restaurant meals.

Limits have not yet been set, but it is likely to mean major chains will be asked to shrink portions of unhealthy food. High- calorie meals such as burgers could be made thinner, pizzas could be shrunk, and side dishes such as chips reduced in size. Dr Alison Tedstone, chief nutritionist at Public Health England, said: ‘Eating out, takeaways and ready meals are no longer a treat and account for a quarter of total calorie consumption.

‘People eat around 200 to 300 calories too many a day, and doing so consistently has led to the obesity crisis gripping our nation.

‘We will be working with the food industry to reduce the calories in everyday food and this year, our marketing campaigns are encouraging people to be more calorie-aware.’ Britain’s obesity problem is the worst in Western Europe, with two-thirds of adults and one-third of children overweight.

Experts fear this will lead to soaring rates of heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

The guidelines will also affect meals bought in supermarkets, so sausage rolls, crisps and readymade sandwiches could also be targeted. The guidelines are voluntary – but manufacturers will be encouraged to change their recipes, to remove sugar and fat.

However, British consumers are staunchly traditional about cherished brands. When Cadbury tried to change the recipe of its Creme Eggs in 2015 there was a consumer backlash and a £6million drop in sales. So firms are more likely to try to hit new calorie targets by reducing the size of each product, rather than changing the recipes.

Public Health England is also launching a campaign to persuade people to limit calories at every meal – 400 for breakfast, 600 for lunch and 600 for dinner – although officials say limits are unlikely to be applied to restaurant dishes.

Growing evidence suggests the demise of the family meal eaten at a dinner table — and the boom in sandwich chains and fast food restaurants means we are increasingly snacking on the go.

But research suggests eating a meal or snack on the move does not fill you up as much as sitting down to a meal at a table. Even when calories are equal, if people think of their food as a ‘snack’ they will eat 50 per cent more later on than if they regard it as a ‘meal’. Experts at the University of Surrey believe people mentally ‘tick off’ their three meals a day.

A report by the Royal Society of Public Health found British workers add an average 767 calories to their diet every week simply by snacking during their commute.

Much of this extra intake was due to them missing breakfast, the report said.

‘It’s led to the obesity crisis’