Calories now printed on menus across South Yorkshire in new anti-obesity initiative
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 across South Yorkshire and the rest of England 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.
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.
Tom Quinn, director of external affairs at Beat, said the eating disorder charity was "extremely disappointed".
"We know from the people we support that including calories on menus can contribute to harmful eating disorder thoughts and behaviours worsening," he said.
"1.25 million people in the UK have an eating disorder, and sadly we know that the pandemic has contributed to more people than ever before needing support for these serious mental illnesses.
"Beat has continually asked the Government to consider the impact on people affected by eating disorders and to take an evidence-based approach when creating health policies.
"This should involve consulting eating disorder clinicians and experts by experience at every stage of the process."
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."