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over 100,000 obesityIf related deaths can be prevented across England over the next two decades Eat New research shows that manufacturers were forced to display clear nutrition warning labels on their products.
Experts at the University of Liverpool found that front-of-pack warnings are mandatory for high-volume items thickSalt, or sugar – a system already in place in many countries – can significantly influence Reduce the number of overweight people and ultimately save lives.
Chile led the way in 2016 by introducing a law requiring a black octagonal warning on the front of food and beverage packaging deemed unhealthy. Mexico and Canada have also followed suit.
In contrast, the UK currently only mandates nutritional information on the back of food packaging, with details on the front of pack, such as the traffic light system, remaining voluntary.
The study, published in Lancet Regional Health – Europe, used modeling to assess the potential impact. It estimated that mandatory traffic light labeling could reduce the prevalence of obesity by 2.34 percent between 2024 and 2043.
It could also prevent or postpone 57,000 obesity-related deaths.
But mandatory implementation of nutrient warning labeling – as seen in other countries – would have a larger impact, reducing obesity prevalence by 4.44 percentage points and resulting in 110,000 fewer obesity-related deaths.
The authors concluded that the government should now consider nutrient warning labels.
Dr Rebecca Evans, corresponding author of the study, said: “Our findings suggest that mandatory nutrient warning labels could provide substantial health benefits to the population, reducing both obesity rates and associated mortality.
“These results support current government discussions about alternative labeling approaches and provide strong evidence to guide future UK food labeling policy.”
Study author Dr Zoe Colombet said: “The nutrition label is a simple but powerful tool.
“Making them mandatory could help people make healthier food choices and encourage the food industry to rethink what we get on our shelves, helping to prevent thousands of deaths linked to obesity”.
Amanda Daly, professor of behavioral medicine at Loughborough University, said: “We need effective public health interventions to reduce the number of deaths related to people suffering from obesity and mandatory warning labels on food could be one way to achieve this.
“Importantly, we need the food industry to play its part in helping people make informed decisions about the food they buy and consume.
“Requiring food manufacturers in the United Kingdom to include warning labels could encourage the sector to consider more carefully the ingredients and portion sizes of the foods they sell.
“Let’s not forget, the public has a right to be fully informed about the impact of the food they eat on their health.”
Dr Jordan Beaumont, of Sheffield Hallam University, said: “Traffic light labeling is a useful tool for consumers, but it can be difficult to interpret in the context of our wider food choices and dietary intake.
“Given that we have so little time to actually inspect labeling and make truly informed decisions when purchasing food, nutrition warning labels provide simpler and more clear information that is quicker and easier to interpret, which explains the larger impact of such information in this modeling.”
Andrea Martínez-Inchausti, assistant director of food at the British Retail Consortium, which represents retailers, said: “Retailers are fully committed to helping their customers improve their health and are increasingly engaged in providing advice on healthy living, including providing nutrition information on all their products.
“Supermarkets have also eagerly adopted the traffic light system for nutritional information on their products.”
The Health Department has been contacted for comment.