Tackle obesity crisis by labelling food with exercise advice

Labelling food and drinks with the amount and type of physical activity needed to burn off the calories in it might be a more effective way of encouraging people to make ‘healthier’ dietary choices, research suggests.

A study, led by Loughborough University, has suggested that physical activity calorie equivalent (PACE) food labelling, which show how many minutes or miles of physical activity are needed to burn off the calories in a particular food or drink, could shave off up to 200 calories per person per day.

The UK Royal Society for Public Health has already called for PACE labelling to replace the current food labelling system, but to date, there’s been little strong evidence to back this stance. The research team found that when PACE labelling was displayed on food and drink items and on menus, on average, significantly fewer calories – around 65 less per meal – were selected. Additionally, PACE labelling was also associated with the consumption of around 80 to 100 fewer calories than no food labelling and other types of labelling.

Loughborough university’s Amanda Daley said: “The evidence shows that even a relatively small reduction in daily calorie intake (100 calories) combined with a sustained increase in physical activity is likely to be good for health and could help curb obesity at the population level. PACE labelling may help people achieve this.

“It is a simple strategy that could be easily included on food/drinks packaging by manufacturers, on shelving price labels in supermarkets, and/or in menus in restaurants/fast-food outlets. Public health agencies may want to consider the possibility of including policies to promote it as a strategy that contributes to the prevention and treatment of obesity and related diseases.”

As an example of the PACE guidelines, eating 230 calories in a small bar of chocolate would require about 46 minutes of walking or 23 minutes of running to burn off these calories.