Counting calories in a restaurant? I’d rather do the dishes...
Been out for dinner lately? Me neither. It’s not that I don’t want to. Heaven knows there are few things that make me happier than the thought of someone else cooking my meal, doing the washing up and providing limitless baskets of bread to boot.
But, well, the cost of living crisis is no joke, and belts have to be tightened somehow. What might have once been a twice-monthly treat has instead become an occasional indulgence and, from what I hear, I am far from alone.
I can’t imagine any of this is good news for the hospitality industry which, having weathered two years of lockdowns and restrictions, is now having to cope with a country operating a de facto curfew thanks to a hugely diminished train timetable.
But, wait. What’s this? Yet more challenges facing our restaurants in the months to come? Yep, the Scottish Government is coming for our calories. a public consultation has been launched into the possibility of adding calories to menus for restaurants, cafes and takeaways – a move introduced earlier this year in england and Wales for eateries that employ more than 250 people.
The plan has received a mixed reception and is already causing consternation among charities dealing with people who suffer eating disorders.
‘Including calories on menus causes distress and anxiety for those impacted by eating disorders and can actually contribute to eating disorder thoughts and behaviours worsening,’ says the charity BeaT.
‘calories counting can become a fixation for people with anorexia and can cause feelings of guilt and distress for those who experience binge eating.’
There is also concern that the calorie labelling extends to children’s menus. Do we really want young people getting obsessed by this stuff? Surely if you’re young enough to eat off the children’s menu, you’re young enough not to be worrying about calories.
The regulations in england and Wales are limited to larger establishments, but others are apparently being ‘encouraged’ to fall in line.
For small restaurants this could be a disaster, particularly for places reliant on fresh produce that changes from day to day. To tot up calories, all that produce must be weighed out, then sent off for analysis to a nutritionist, and results might not arrive for days. It costs money per dish, too – around £30-£40 a time. can you imagine the financial pressure that would put on small businesses just trying to keep themselves afloat?
and yet, given that the public consultation is now in full swing, it seems inevitable that calorie labelling on menus will happen here, and probably sooner rather than later.
Yes, obesity is a growing issue and one that threatens to impact on an increasingly creaky nHS. and when it comes to restaurants where nobody ever orders the limited healthy choices then a bit of cold hard reality regarding calorie counts is no bad thing.
I also understand that there are undeniable benefits to understanding how many calories you are consuming, partly because so few of us really do.
JUST this week a report concluded that Britons vastly underestimate calories – believing a portion of fish and chips, for example, has around 388, when it is closer to a thousand.
But unless I’m mistaken, nobody is eating fish and chips in a restaurant or from a takeaway on a daily basis, not least because in the current environment it’s financial insanity.
and calories only tell us part of the story. That golden number might not tell you that the surprisingly highcalorie salad is full of good proteins and fats, while the slightly less calorific chips and ketchup is not nearly as beneficial.
anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any mental health issue. For others who battle disordered eating of any form, the inherent message that some foods are ‘good’ and others are ‘bad’, is damaging.
Forcing us to confront calorific values when we’re trying to enjoy a rare treat seems almost as mean as making us do the washing up afterwards.