3 in 4 want all restaurants to show calories

Three- quarTers of the public think all cafes, restaurants and takeaways should display calorie information on menus, a survey found.

The poll for Diabetes UK found just 29 per cent of Britons feel well-informed about the nutritional content of the food they order when eating out.

and some 83 per cent think the Government should legally enforce traffic-light labelling on food and drink packaging to help them make decisions about fat, saturated fat, sugar and salt consumption, the survey of more than 2,000 adults found.

The charity is calling on ministers to commit to mandatory front-of-pack labelling. Two-thirds of adults in the UK are overweight or obese, which is a significant risk factor for type-2 diabetes.

helen Dickens, of Diabetes UK, said: ‘Consistent and clear food labelling can help all of us to make informed and healthy choices.’

earlier this week, Public health england warned that obesity was becoming ‘ the norm’ and challenged the food industry to cut a fifth of calories from foods in the next six years.

Izzi seccombe, of the Local Government association, which represents councils, said: ‘Pub, restaurant and cinema chains need to be displaying calorie counts so consumers and parents have a more informed choice.’