More than 9,000 heart disease-related deaths could be prevented in England over the next two decades if all restaurants, fast food outlets, cafes, pubs and takeaways introduced calories to their menus, a modeling study suggests.
Around 730 deaths from cardiovascular disease could be prevented between 2022 and 2041 under current Government policy, which only covers large food businesses with 250 or more employees, scientists said.
The findings, published in the Lancet Public Health journal, also suggest the current policy would reduce the prevalence of obesity in England by 0.31 per cent over the next 20 years, while full implementation of the policy across all food businesses would reduce this by 2.65 percentage points. percentage points.
The researchers said their results “highlight the need for the Government to consider extending this policy to all food businesses to maximize public health benefits as part of a wider UK obesity strategy.”
Martin O’Flaherty, professor of epidemiology at the University of Liverpool, said: “More than one in four adults in England are now living with obesity and trends show this will increase.
“Our research estimates that current calorie labeling legislation will prevent hundreds of deaths from cardiovascular disease over the next 20 years; “But a much greater impact would have been possible if the Government had been more ambitious in its ambitions to tackle the obesity epidemic in England and extended the policy to all out-of-home food businesses.”
In April 2022, the Government introduced mandatory calorie labeling for foodservice businesses in England as part of the national obesity strategy.
The goal is to help restaurant customers make healthier choices and combat the nation’s growing obesity problem.
Similar legislation is being considered in Wales and Scotland.
To better understand the future impact of calories on menus, researchers examined how the current policy, which applies to approximately 18% of food businesses, would affect two key outcomes: obesity and cardiovascular disease.
Dr., lecturer in epidemiology and public health at the University of Liverpool. Zoe Colombet said: “Obesity increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes, which can also lead to cardiovascular disease.
“Therefore, reducing obesity will result in reductions in cardiovascular disease and, in the long term, other diseases associated with obesity, such as some types of cancer and joint diseases.”
The team found that without any menu calorie labeling policy, an estimated 830,000 deaths from cardiovascular disease would occur by 2041.
Modeling suggests around 730 deaths could be prevented over the next 20 years under the current policy, and around 9,200 deaths (almost 13 times more) if the policy were extended to all food businesses in England.
Dr Colombet said: “Our results suggest that extending calorie labeling on menus to all British out-of-home food businesses could play an important role in future government strategies to support people to make healthier choices in the fight against obesity.
“But policy alone will not solve the UK’s obesity crisis.
“We encourage the government to continue and strengthen the UK obesity strategy with a wide range of policies, including calorie labelling, tackling junk food marketing and soft drinks industry taxes, which will both reduce obesity and narrow the shocking health inequality gap in our society.”
He also said it was important to understand the cost to small businesses and that mechanisms to help implement and monitor the policy should be discussed.
The researchers also said there are other areas of policy impact that their study did not investigate, such as eating disorders.
Eric Robinson, professor of psychology at the University of Liverpool, said: “Policymakers need to consider multiple factors when making decisions, and future research is needed into the cost-effectiveness of policy, its impact on consumers and businesses, as well as potential unintended consequences, such as negative consequences on eating disorders.” ”
Commenting on the research, registered dietitian and senior lecturer at Aston Medical School in Birmingham, Dr. Duane Mellor said it is vital that potential public health policies are thoroughly tested through modeling before they are implemented.
He said there were other studies to suggest that in some cases calorie labeling “could lead to increased consumption as it is seen as better value for money”.
Dr Mellor said: “This highlights that calorie labeling on menus alone can have the potential to be counterproductive. “It is important to look at the overall nutritional balance of meals and how they fit into the overall diet.
“It doesn’t make sense to focus solely on the energy content of foods to assess how healthy they are.”