The Impact of Calories on Menus
Introduction
The government has announced that from April 2022 calories must be displayed on menus and food labels on all out of home businesses as the government strives to tackle obesity and improve the U.K.’s health.¹
The aim of this initiative is to provide people with the calorie information at the point of purchase to ensure people can make an informed decision about how “healthy” their food or takeaway is.¹
Public Health Minister Jo Chruchill said: “Our aim is to make it as easy as possible for people to make healthier food choices for themselves and their families, both in restaurants and at home. That is why we want to make sure everyone has access to accurate information about the food and drink we order.”¹
The COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted the impact of obesity on health and health outcomes.¹ It can be estimated that 13% of 16-24 year olds are obese and 35% are overweight.²
The issue of calories
Apps such as MyFitnessPal allow people to input their foods over the course of the day and calculate their total calorie intake. It is recommended that an average woman should consume 2000 calories per day and men should consume 2500 calories per day. However calories is an estimation and does not consider age, so for teenagers who are rapidly growing they need more energy.³
Counting calories using technology can become addictive and can result in the over fascination of reaching the perfect calorie intake over the course of the day - even if this means missing out of some vital nutrients! Spending too much time fascinated on calories can lead to eating disorders such as AFRID.⁴
If teenagers focus on a lower calorie intake this can be detrimental to their health. This is because calories do not show us the whole picture of how nutritious food is therefore restricting calories can lead to the restriction of nutrients which are essential for teenagers as they grow into young adults.⁵
Moving forward
If the government plans to use “calories” as a way to tackle obesity, more work is required for it to be effective and to not cause harm. Currently, adding calories to menus may cause more harm than good. This is because people are not educated around what calories mean and the importance of considering the nutritional value of foods.
The government should look to include food and nutrition back into education so that teenagers are given the opportunity to learn about the importance of food choices, how to prep, cook and store foods and overall the importance of nutrition across the lifespan. For example in Ontario, Canada there Ontario’s Food Literacy for Student’s Act (Bill 201) aims to make food literacy mandatory for grades 1 to 12 to ensure students are given the opportunity to grow, prepare and learn about local foods.⁵ A greater understanding of nutrition education will allow people to make informed decisions of how “healthy” their food is by looking at the whole picture not just the calories.
Our Advice for teenage nutrition⁶
1. Don’t skip breakfast - breakfast can be a source of energy and fibre to kick start the day.
2. Aim for 5 a day or more - fruit and vegetables a source of lots of vitamins and minerals needed in the body.
3. Consider the types of snacks - try to reduce the amount of snacks high in salt, fat and sugars.
4. Stay hydrated - try for 6 to 8 glasses of water a day.
5. Iron - teenage girls are at risk of iron deficiency anaemia due to their periods. A diet rich in iron can reduce this and reduce tiredness.
6. Calcium and vitamin D - needed for strong bones and teeth as teenagers continue to grow.
7. Eating out can be incorporated into a balanced diet, you do not need to get a salad everytime you go out, you should enjoy your food when you are out!
Written by: Lucy Mclean (ANutr)