In an effort to tackle the increased prevalence of obesity, the UK government has introduced a number of public health strategies over the years, including changes to the way we label food. For example, the “traffic light” color-coded system, which was introduced in 2013, aims to make it easier for consumers whether or not the foods they eat are healthy for them.
But some critics think that this kind of labeling may still be difficult to fully understand or apply in practice, and may not necessarily lead people to healthier food choices. Since obesity is always on the riseit is clear that current strategies are not working.
Recently, a team of researchers from Loughborough University proposed a different food labeling system known as the caloric equivalent of physical activity, or Pace. This method illustrates the number of minutes of exercise it would take to burn calories from certain foods and beverages. The researchers showed that this new approach was easier for participants to understand – and may be more likely to help people avoid high-calorie foods.
But while these types of food labels have the benefit of being easier to understand, they can also be misleading and not suitable for everyone.
Benefits
As well as being easier to understand, the Loughborough team also showed in a previous review that using exercise to illustrate equivalent calories in food and drink can help people. consume fewer calories — about 65 fewer calories each time they eat — compared to other food labeling methods.
Although it may not seem like much, over time it can help people overeat less and can also cause them eat fewer high-calorie foods like fast food.
Other studies have shown that Pace can also help increase physical activity levels somewhat, which could be beneficial for those looking to be more active.
Using exercise to illustrate the calories in food can therefore be a useful tool for consumers, as it provides understandable and relevant information that can help them. best plan their meals and workouts – potentially leading to healthier food choices while encouraging physical activity, both key to reducing or preventing obesity.
The inconvenients
While early label results for exercise-based foods look promising, research is still needed in real world settings and more longer periods whether this will inform future public health policy.
Another obvious pitfall of the Pace approach is that it generalize calories burned. This means that the averages used on the labels may not correspond to how each person burns calories.
A variety of factors – like the type of exercise you do, how you train intenselyyour age and fitness level – all influence the amount of calories you burn. The way we digest and metabolize food is also very individual.
This could mean that general food labels could be misleading. The calories estimated to be burned on the packet are unlikely to apply to everyone. This could cause some people to eat more or less food than they need.
Another reason the information on these labels could be misleading is that they assume all calories consumed are equal. For example, two foods with the same calorie content may have different levels of fibre, fat, sugars or protein.
All of these are metabolized differently, which will influence how our food is used and stored by our body. Low fiber content, foods high in sugar and energyfor example, have been associated with weight gain compared to healthier options with a similar number of calories.
Beat tags could also inadvertently cause people to eating more low-quality or ultra-processed foods because they may think they can just exercise to burn those calories. However, unhealthy and ultra-processed foods can still cause harm to the body, even if the calories they contain are used.
Other experts believe that these types of food labels will only have an effect short term effect changing food choices. Another concern is that Pace could trigger eating disorders or over-exercise in susceptible populations. It could also cause people to eat less in order to avoid the exercise needed to burn extra calories.
Our point of view
Labeling foods and drinks with the amount of exercise needed to burn them can certainly have some benefits. However, it is clear that a one-size-fits-all approach may be too simplistic when it comes to tackling obesity in a population. This is especially true when you consider that each person’s diet, activity levels, lifestyle, and even genetics are different from one another.
As such, obesity reduction strategies should aim to take a more individualized approach to helping people increase their total daily intake. movement and activitywhile helping them assess their eating habits and portion sizesas well as choosing better quality foods.
