Eating disorder charity warns of dangers of calories on menus in the East
Four in five people are in favour of restaurants displaying the numbers
A new government initiative to try and tackle obesity by displaying the number of calories in meals has been launched.
From Wednesday (April 6th), businesses in East Anglia with over 250 employees - including cafés, takeaways and restaurants - will be required to clearly show the number of calories in non-prepacked meals.
Calories will need to be displayed where customers are making their choice, such as on physical menus or online, and food labels.
It comes as the UK government tries to tackle the issue of obesity in the country, with conditions relating to obesity costing the NHS £6.1 billion every year.
In addition, nearly two thirds of adults in the UK are classed as being overweight or obese, while one in three children is classed as overweight when leaving primary school.
In Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex around 60% of adults are thought to suffer from obesity.
A survey carried out by Public Health England found that four in five people supported the government's move to make calories clearer on menus.
However, the government initiative has had a mixed reaction, with one charity saying it could affect those suffering from eating disorders harder.
Martha Williams is the Clinical Advice Coordinator at the Norwich-based eating dis-order charity BEAT: "From the people we speak to 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.
"For example, calories counting can become a fixation for people with anorexia and can cause feelings of guilt and distress for those who experience binge eating.
"In 2021 we surveyed over 100,000 people in the UK about the introduction of calories into menus. 89% of those who responded said they did not support the introduction of mandatory calorie labelling onto menus and 93% said the introduction of calorie labelling would be negative or very negative for people living with eating disorders"
She told us that customers should be able to chose whether they have a menu which provides a calorie count for a meal or not.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said that the Government had to act when it came to the issue of obesity: "We are all used to seeing nutritional information on products sold in supermarkets and displaying calorie information on menus can help us consume fewer calories when eating out or getting a takeaway," he said.
"The regulations will also allow businesses to provide menus without calorie information at the request of the customer."