London campaigners call for Government plans to put calories on menus to be scrapped
There are concerns the move could have a massive impact on sufferers of eating disorders
Campaigners in the capital are calling for plans to force large cafes and restaurants to list calories on menus to be scrapped - amid fears the move could set people suffering from eating disorders back in their recoveries.
"25% of people who start calorie counting will go on to develop an eating disorder," says 31-year-old Hope Virgo from Wandsworth.
"But yet for some reason, we feel like this is some sort of magical solution for tackling all of these other health issues going on in society," she continues.
Hope developed anorexia when she was 12, and is the founder of the #DumpTheScales campaign - calling for the requirement for people seeking treatment to be a certain weight to be dropped.
"I'm in a really good place in my recovery at the moment, pushing for that final stage to be 100% well, but the thought of going to these restaurants that have got calories on the menus absolutely terrifies me."
Calories will be labelled on menus and food labels in out-of-home food businesses from April 2022, the government has announced.
Regulations have been laid out in parliament requiring large businesses with 250 or more employees in England, including cafes, restaurants and takeaways, to display the calorie information of non-prepacked food and soft drink items that are prepared for customers.
Calorie information will need to be displayed at the point of choice for the customer, such as physical menus, online menus, food delivery platforms and food labels.
The measures, which form part of the government’s wider strategy to tackle obesity, aim to encourage people "to make more informed, healthier choices when it comes to eating food out or ordering takeaways."