The food watchdog has advised that cutting the size of chocolate bars would go a long way to reducing the rate of obesity in the UK. The Food Standards Agency has said that manufacturers should reduce the size of their products by a fifth to minimise calorie intake.
The regulator has proposed that the standard size of a chocolate bar be no larger than 50g. They have also asked firms like Cadburys to sell the ‘fun-size’ versions of their treats singly, rather than in multi-bar bags.
There have also been suggestions that fizzy-drink cans should over the next six years be made smaller. After a consultation with the food industry, it was agreed that within three years, added drink sugar levels should be reduced by 4%, with experts hoping that this will help the public gradually get weaned off sweet drinks without noticing the sugar content has been reduced.
A spokeswoman from the agency has denied that the measures are ‘nannying’ people, or telling people what they should eat. She said that the FSA want to make it easier for people to eat healthily and make good food choices.
While the consultation was aiming to encourage food companies to take voluntary action to reduce sizes and sugar content, it is possible that if they fail to respond the government may threaten to legislate.
Personally, I think the proposed measures sound excellent. When I eat a chocolate bar, I am eating it not to fill myself up but for the pleasure of treating myself, for the loveliness of the first bite. I sincerely doubt I would notice if the Mars or Twix was smaller, but my bottom certainly would. Okay, it is a little bit ‘nannyish’ but with 60% of Brits likely to be dangerously fat by 2050, the UK needs a bit of nannying when it comes to their diet.