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Calorie labels on restaurant menus are negatively impacting people with eating disorders, according to a new students published in BMJ Public Health. The review, which is the first of its kind, is LED by Researchers at King’s College London. It found that individuals who have been diagnosed with an Eating disorder changed their behavioors if presented with a menu featuring calorie labels.
This included avoiding restaurants, triggering eating disorder thoughts and paying more attention to calorie labels as identified by eye tracking research. The research found that some people with eating disorders reported that seeing menu labels reinforced their eating disorder beliefs.
The study evaluated existing research to help build a picture of how nutritional labels on menus impact people with live experience of eating disorders or disordered. It reviewed 16 Studies from the UK, US, Canada and Saudi Arabia that included 8,074 participants in total.
The study highlights that people with eating disorders can feel that eating disorders are personalized as less in the light of obesity prevention policies.
However, physical health cannot be measured by a single indicator such as weight. Some argue that calorie labels can be seen as a blunt instrument to fix a complicated problem and that people with eating disorders clock be losing out.
Food Labeling Came Into Force in England in 2022. Restaurants, take-aways and cafes with 250 employers or more Must display the calories of the food and drink they sell on menus, online menus and take-on Plat. The measure was an attempt to curb rising obesity levels. The united states and canada have also also also made calorie displays mandatory. However, FEW Policies Targeting Obesity Have Considered The Potential Impact on Eating disorders.
The Eating Disorder Charity Beat Estimates that At Least 1.25 Million People in the Uk Have an Eating Disorder. The number of people admitted to hospital with an Eating disorder has Risen Approximately 7% Each Year Since 2005-2006.
Senior Author Dr. Tom Jewell, Lecturer in Mental Health Nursing at King London, Said, “Our Study Highlights that People with Lived Experience of Eating Disorders are frustrated at D Calorie Labels.
“Striking a Balance Between The Positive and Harmful Impacts of Calorie Labels on Menus is Vital in Any Public Health Policy. Policymakers Should Consider the IMPACT on BOTING DINTING S About Nutrition Labeling. Modest Effect on People’s Behavior, but this needs to be counterbalanceted with the potential harm it does to does to people with eating disorders. “
Co-Author Dr. Nora trompeter, Research Fellow At University College London, SAID, “Our Study Provides an important addition to the evidence base around calorie labels. Typical Are effective in reduction obesity, but it is also critical to Investigate Wheethr these Policies Inadverted Harm People with Eating disorders. . For example, None of the Studies Included Young People. “
More information:
Impact of Out-of-Home Nutrition Labelling on People with Eating Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta Synthesis, BMJ Public Health (2025). Doi: 10.1136/bmjph-2023-000862
Citation: Calorie Labels on Menus could make eating disorders WorsE (2025, January 28) Retrieved 28 January 2025 from
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