Calories on the menu - just why?

[Figmentofmyimagination]

Visited pizza express last night to catch up with a girlfriend - first visit since pre pandemic. Ordered my favourite fiorentina pizza with spinach and egg but my enjoyment was somewhat diminished by reading the 950 calorie count on the menu. I understand that this is the law now. Who decided that this is a good idea? Absolutely crazy.

It would be helpful if pubs and restaurants put calorie counts/ingredients routinely on their websites. Then one could discreetly check.
some have done for ages, Pizza expess definitely has - carb & other nutrient counts as well I think

It's unhelpful, it isn't going to help obesity and is going to cause massive problems. My friend has an ED and we're going for food on Wednesday. She's recently been diagnosed anorexic and it is really dangerous for her to calorie count. Incidentally, ED causes more immediate harm to people than obesity which happens over longer time. My friend has.slready started experiencing heart and blood pressure problems.

Presumably someone on that type of diet won't be dropping in to the nearest Pizza express etc every day?

That's what I like about calorie counting, it doesn't matter what you eat, as long as your numbers are under the necessary threshold. So it doesn't particularly restrict you from any particular type of food or restaurant.

You might mean 'VLC' diets ('very low calorie' diets) in which case you're probably right, because those are (supposed to be) carefully controlled and pre-planned.

@Marchingredsoldiers

It really affects my enjoyment of my food (when visiting the uk). Like others i rarely eat out. Wolfing down 2000 calories in one meal won't really affect my weight. It's the rest of my lifestyle that does. Really, everyone has an idea of healthy and unhealthy food.

I live in a country that doesn't do this. The people aren't any bigger here - in fact the opposite. But there is a generous welfare system and lots of government support - practically no poverty. I think that achieves what the calorie listing aims for. Boring and much more expensive though.

Where do you live?

"the suggestions here that people are goinrg to be rigourouslly using menu calorie counts as part of a rigid calorie count diet seem a bit bonkers!
Presumably someone on that type of diet won't be dropping in to the nearest Pizza express etc every day?"

Dieters are allowed to eat out you know. Even every day if they want to and choose the soup or whatever.

@FarmGirl78

Everyone else should be allowed to enjoy their pizza in peace

OP this really gave me the giggles. I've got visions of someone trying to eat pizza in a restaurant with someone crouched next to their table shouting "YOU REALLY SHOULDN'T BE EATING THAT! YOU KNOW VERY WELL YOUR ARSE HAS BEEN GETTING A BIT CHUNKY RECENTLY!" through a megaphone inches from their face. Calories amounts printed on a menu isn't exactly stopping anyone "eating their pizza in peace". Man with megaphone, yes. Calories on menu, no.

To be fair I need that man with a megaphone in My life

"For most people, eating out in a restaurant is a treat - will differ on whether that might be weekly/monthly or less often -"

Many people eat out often. it's not just restaurants, there are also things like work canteens and cafes and people get takeaways.

"It would be helpful if pubs and restaurants put calorie counts/ingredients routinely on their websites. Then one could discreetly check."

Many people wouldn't want the hassle of having to go on the website and find the right thing with their smart phone though. Much easier to have it on the menu.

"But there is a generous welfare system and lots of government support - practically no poverty. I think that achieves what the calorie listing aims for. Boring and much more expensive though."

Well, yes, but it would take years to have that kind of change and eliminate poverty. Certainly not going to happen under a Tory government.

@TotalRhubarb

PineappleMojito

DaisyStPatience
I understand the concern for people with restrictive eating disorders but there are a huge number of overweight and obese people in this country who also have eating disorders and evidently something needs to be done on that front.

The reality for people with alcohol and gambling addiction is that they're constantly confronted by triggers too, the same goes for many other traumas, it just isn't possible to avoid.
The “something needs to be done” about those who live in larger bodies and also have eating disorders does not = telling them to restrict calories.

It’s about why people overeat emotionally and psychologically
It’s about poverty and unaffordable healthy food - prices skyrocketing
It’s about poor nutrition education, the education system neglects life skills over passing tests.
It’s about the food industry and an obesogenic environment making it easier for people to turn to food for psychological reasons rather than hunger. Also, a poor diet over a long time can cause you to be out of touch with your body’s hunger and satiety cues, making intuitive eating impossible.
It’s about “hustle culture” which makes it the norm to suppress and ignore bodily needs to serve the consumer machine. Long work hours, lack of sleep (which also impacts appetite control) and lack of leisure time or time/energy to cook healthy meals. Turning to quick and easy food rewards - takeout or ready meals because you can’t do anything else due to exhaustion.
It can be about unidentified health issues including neurological ones such as ADHD - huge link between undiagnosed ADHD and binge eating disorder and bulimia, so we should be screening people with EDs and addiction issues as standard practice.*

Calories on menus are bollocks. We need systemic change.

Came on to say something very similar. I’m really concerned about the effect of this on people with EDs, who already struggle with an illness that has a higher mortality rate than any other MH issue.

And for those who struggle with being overweight or obese, it’s not going to help much either.

It’s a lazy and cheap way for the government to pass the blame solely to the individual, rather than invest properly in decent mental health provision or societal change to address the drivers of obesity.

If they were really concerned about obesity they would be looking to tackle the underlying causes, not trying to spend the minimum possible in palming responsibility off.

This. Also the fact that the food industry is such a a big player I watched a documentary at the beginning of the year which showed how much of our food is "products" and processed" vs 40 years ago. Think about how small the actual "produce" section is vs the rest of all the other things that are helpfully packaged calories just for you.

Because there's an obesity epidemic!!!!! People need to be aware of the shit they are consuming!!

RedHelenB
Not in a meal they haven’t prepared as it will have many components.

@DogsAndGin

Anorexia affects up to 12% of women, and 1% of men. So of course the huge issue of how printing calories on a menu affects anorexic people was completely overlooked. Gotta help those over eaters! (Which are mainly… you guessed it… men!)

Whattt?? Where have you picked that 'fact' from??

If you don't want to see the calories then why not support a local restaurant, exempt from the menu regulations, rather than going to a chain.

I am very overweight. The rare time I go out to eat I will very happily ignore calories, they literally have no affect on any choice I make.

I usually follow a low carb diet, mainly because it helps to control sensory issues (I’m autistic) and possible sugar addiction, and manage to generally eat very healthily. I don’t count calories as they trigger very disordered eating patterns and mental health issues.
I eat out maybe once or twice a year.

Most of the people I know who are hugely overweight often strike me as neurodivergent, and weight loss support is unlikely to help unless it comes in the form of therapy of some sort, as the obesity is highly likely down to an eating disorder.

It seems to me that this is a scheme to shame fat people into making better choices, and I don’t see any way that it will work.
We know we’re fat, we probably already feel guilt and shame, which just exacerbates the psychological issues that are probably behind our obesity in the first place.

@Hont1986

The calorie tally in a NT cafe today put me off buying a slice. 860 cals. I felt quite annoyed really: why sell cakes 3 layers deep, slathered in buttercream in massive slices? A piece two thirds smaller would have been perfectly good.

I think that's a perfect example of why the new law is so helpful. It's so ingrained in us that you have a tea and a slice of cake as a snack when you have a day out, that you wouldn't even consider it as part of your intake for the day. And yet that 'snack' is worth almost half your daily calories. You might not have even thought about it before, but seeing the numbers made you change your behaviour. I think it's great.

I agree. I think it's a good thing they are advising on calories, we have an obesity epidemic and maybe this will make people more aware of how many calories they consume on a daily basis. The amount of overweight and obese children in this country is huge, and roughly 64% of adults. That's a huge number. If this is one way to try and tackle it, I'm all for it. Calories are not the be all and end all, but they do play a part.

@MissMaple82

Because there's an obesity epidemic!!!!! People need to be aware of the shit they are consuming!!

I'm perfectly aware of what I'm reading, thanks. I am well within my BMI and easy healthily and well. However, even I go out for a meal, it's a treat, send I really don't want to be faced with this information. So what if I want a pudding that's very calorie laden when I'm out at a nice restaurant? It's not going to damage me, yet I have to have the enjoyment sucked out of it. Personally I'd prefer menus to be double sided. Calorific value printed on one side only.

I'm an definitely going to be avoiding chain restaurants and gastropubs now, so this is good news for independents.

Reading? Eating. Stupid autocorrect.

Good grief. Loads of auto'corrects' in that post actually. Apologies. Hopefully you can translate.

Eating Disorders aside I don't understand why it takes enjoyment out of eating out if you go out for a treat.

If it's a one off treat I won't bother about the calories having just done what I would have before which is have a lighter amount to eat that day knowing I will be consuming more later.

@Hont1986

The calorie tally in a NT cafe today put me off buying a slice. 860 cals. I felt quite annoyed really: why sell cakes 3 layers deep, slathered in buttercream in massive slices? A piece two thirds smaller would have been perfectly good.

I think that's a perfect example of why the new law is so helpful. It's so ingrained in us that you have a tea and a slice of cake as a snack when you have a day out, that you wouldn't even consider it as part of your intake for the day. And yet that 'snack' is worth almost half your daily calories. You might not have even thought about it before, but seeing the numbers made you change your behaviour. I think it's great.

I agree with this too.

Cafes don’t always cater for what I eat anyway (low carb) but if it becomes apparent a slice of cake is nearly half daily calories then it will help.

We need something to help as obesity is getting higher

I noticed this for the first time this week. I understand that we do have an obesity epidemic but I'm not sure this is going to work and may even cause more eating issues. My DC was able to tell me how many calories were in their meal last night and were concerned that they had eaten too many calories. They are underweight and need to eat more. When you go out or are on holiday it is a treat, eat what you want.

We eat out quite a lot so not always a treat to eat what I want.

I think a big part of our obesity crisis is the amount of food children are given including the endless snacking. People thinking teens needs a bowl of pasta after a full meal etc.

Also the amount of food adults think they need - you see it on here all the time, people saying they need to eat all the time, there’s not enough food at weddings etc etc.

@saraclara

Why would it suck out the enjoyment? You must know that when you go out and eat whatever you fancy that the calorie content could be high. It’s not a problem for you though as you eat healthy the rest of the time. Would seeing the calories really make any odds to you? As I say you must have a rough idea anyway of what’s calorific and what isn’t but it’s fine cos it’s an occasional treat, having calories printed on the menu makes no odds to that