Restaurants must reveal calorie counts to fight child obesity
RESTAURANTS, cafés and takeaway outlets will be forced to display calorie counts under government plans to halve levels of childhood obesity within 12 years.
The measures will also include asking every primary school to introduce schemes to boost children’s activity, such as the “Daily Mile”, an initiative which sees pupils run for 15 minutes a day, on top of regular PE lessons.
Children could also be banned from buying sugary energy drinks, which can contain as much caffeine as a cup of coffee. A quarter of children aged six to nine are now consuming such beverages.
Ministers said that “dangerous overconsumption”, combined with inactive lifestyles, was having “a catastrophic effect on our children’s health”, which could cut lives short.
The plans will involve a consultation on the introduction of “clear, consistent calorie labelling” on menus in restaurants, cafés and takeaways.
Research shows one in five meals is consumed out- side the home, with today’s children spending at least twice as much time eating out as those who grew up in the Seventies.
Alison Tedstone, chief nutritionist at Public Health England, said: “Having a takeaway or eating out is no longer a treat, it’s a regular part of everyday life, yet too often menus are information-free zones.”
The new target – to halve the number of children classed as obese by 2030 – was welcomed by health officials, who said the measures were bold enough to reverse Britain’s epidemic.
It is estimated that around 1.4million children aged between two and 15 are currently considered obese in England. Therefore, meeting this ambitious target would mean approximately 700,000 fewer obese children. The plans, which will be subject to consultation, follow a childhood obesity strategy in 2016 which was heavily criticised by campaigners after being significantly watered down.
The proposals will also see a ban on the advertising of
unhealthy foods on television before the 9pm watershed, and the removal of such goods from checkouts and twofor-one deals.
Dairy-based drinks such as milkshakes and lattes could be covered by the Government’s sugar tax, if manufacturers do not do enough to cut their sugar content, the plans say.
Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, said: “Parents want what is best for their children, but keeping them healthy and active can be difficult. It is near impossible to shield children from exposure to unhealthy foods.
“Parents are asking for help – we know that over three quarters of parents find offers for sugary sweets and snacks at checkouts annoying. It’s our job to give power to parents to make healthier choices, and to make their life easier in doing so.”
Under the plans, supermarkets will be told to get rid of “guilt lanes” that see parents pestered by children to buy chocolate and sweets while queuing for the checkout. Officials said the removal of unhealthy foods from buy- one-get-one-free deals was also an attempt to mitigate “pester power”.
It follows warnings that obesity has become “the new smoking” in terms of the health risks being posed to the population. Almost a tenth of the health service budget is now taken up treating diabetes, with the majority of cases fuelled by excess weight. The consulta- tion on banning advertisements for unhealthy food before the 9pm watershed follows research which found that watching one extra junk food advertisement a week meant children ate an additional 18,000 calories a year.
Current rules mean junk foods cannot be marketed during programmes specifically made for children, but there are no restrictions on placing such advertisements during the most popular family viewing. The plans to restrict advertising of unhealthy foods to children will cover online platforms.
Stephen Woodford, chief executive of the Advertising Association, welcomed the proposed introduction of the Daily Mile, but added: “International experience and independent research has shown advertising bans have little impact on the wider societal issues that drive obesity, which is caused by the interaction of many complex factors.”