CALORIE COUNTS ON MENUS TARGET THE WRONG DINERS

THE latest of the Government’s anti-obesity measures is now in force and large restaurants and cafes have to display calorie counts on menus.

I have long supported public health measures that aim to reduce the burden of lifestyle diseases by helping people lose weight and keep it off, but I do not support this.

For one, there is no data to prove that calorie counts on menus will reduce Britain’s levels of obesity. The US has had similar measures for years and its obesity rates have continued to climb. Most importantly, the potential harm is immense.

In my experience, obese people are unlikely to look at or obsess over calories. But the 1.2million Britons who have eating disorders, such as anorexia and bulimia, are.

We’ve already seen a 50 per cent rise in the number of people hospitalised with these illnesses since 2019 – do we really need to add fuel to the fire?