2 జులై, 2025

"Restaurants will have to tell the government what their customers order under plans drawn up by Labour to tackle Britain’s obesity epidemic...."

"Under the proposals outlined by Wes Streeting, the health secretary, restaurants employing more than 250 workers are expected to report the average number of calories that diners consume. The government will then set targets to 'increase the healthiness of sales.'... Streeting said:'“Obesity has doubled since the 1990s and costs our NHS £11 billion a year, triple the budget for ambulance services. Unless we curb the rising tide of cost and demand, the NHS risks becoming unsustainable. The good news is that it only takes a small change to make a big difference. If everyone who is overweight reduced their calorie intake by around 200 calories a day — the equivalent of a bottle of fizzy drink — obesity would be halved.'"

From "Restaurants to report diners’ calorie counts in obesity drive/The Department of Health says the data will be used to set targets and increase the ‘healthiness of sales’ — but the industry says it was ‘totally blindsided'" (London Times).

76 కామెంట్‌లు:

Jamie చెప్పారు...

I question the stat. Obesity will be halved? Every overweight individual's reducing intake 200 calories a day is going to take a LONG time to show even minimal weightloss; it's got to be some kind of population average, doesn't it? I mean, technically I'm 3lb overweight by at least legacy Weight Watchers tables (I don't know what they're doing now, so I'm going off the last "healthy weight range" from when I was in my 30s), but if I cut my calories 200 calories a day it wouldn't have the slightest impact on obesity.

Jamie చెప్పారు...

And then we get to the reporting requirements, with regard to both bureaucratic burden and privacy issues.

Quayle చెప్పారు...

Do you think they’ll next require bars to report how many pints of air each person consumes each evening? I would guess that is probably costing The Department of Health more than the impact of too much food. But likely no politician would attempt to tackle that root cause.

Sebastian చెప్పారు...

"If everyone who is overweight reduced their calorie intake by around 200 calories a day — the equivalent of a bottle of fizzy drink — obesity would be halved." OK, so how about taxing the obese directly rather than burdening business? Why is the latter acceptable but not the former?

Lucien చెప్పారు...

Everyone who happily wore masks and are still taking MRNA “boosters” will be happy to comply.

Jamie చెప్పారు...

And finally (I swear) - I think this is tangentially related: it occurred to me yesterday that Mamdani's grocery stores, if they are in fact so much cheaper than bodegas or private chain stores, will presumably have to start requiring that you show ID proving that you live within the city limits in order to shop there. How long will it be before Britons have to use their smart identity cards (which, for all I know, they already have) to order food in restaurants? At first it will just be anonymously collected and aggregated data - but what if they are overweight? Will they be allowed to order?

J Severs చెప్పారు...

What @Jamie said, especially if the 'targets' are not 'met'.

gilbar చెప్పారు...

communism has never worked,
because real communism has never been attempted

ALL that is necessary for successful communism is:
COMPLETE AND TOTAL CONTROL

All people must be FORCED TO OBEY AND COMPLY
You can't just ASK people to comply..
you have to FORCE them. This action on the part of britain won't be sufficient.. They will NEED to do MORE..
It's for the people's Own GOOD

tim maguire చెప్పారు...

When you have single-payer healthcare, the government has an interest in every decision you make.

Jamie said... it wouldn't have the slightest impact on obesity.

When reporting the aggregate doesn't make a difference, they will want reporting at the individual level, and ultimately pre-approval of your dinner order.

gilbar చెప్పారు...

" If everyone who is overweight reduced their calorie intake by around 200 calories a day — the equivalent of a bottle of fizzy drink — obesity would be halved.'"

now do SNAP!

john mosby చెప్పారు...

Jamie: the UK does not have a national ID card, for reasons similar to why we dont.

That would be funny if the unintended consequence of Madmani's stores turns out to be a reversal of the current suburban shopping exodus. Especially if it result s in ID suddenly becoming easily obtainable for urbanites.

RR
JSM

Aggie చెప్పారు...

Hmm. Will the restaurants be obliged to correct the totals for what is left on the plates?

mikee చెప్పారు...

The NHS says fat Britons cost too much to service and RESTAURANTS are mandated to fix the problem? I suggest the restaurants be mandated to admit only people below a certain total mass, and all fatties must be refused service. Easier to do, and it will still put the restaurants out of business, which seems the government objective here. And yes, of course a fat control mandate will be pushed to grocers as well. Heck, just go to WWII-like rationing again and control the calories the fat bastards are allowed to consume each month. The pounds will drop off right fast, and the surplus food production of British farmers can be exported with lower prices. They produce some lovely cheese, beef, mutton and I'd like it to cost less here in the US. Where we have fat bastards, too.

Dust Bunny Queen చెప్పారు...

Most people don't routinely eat in restaurants (excluding fast food take out types of eateries). The cost!! of eating "out" makes it a special treat or occasion. Then, of course, people will eat more and likely things they won't/can't cook at home.

Obesity is a lifetime and lifestyle issue. Not a once a week or month thing the government can control.

Peachy చెప్పారు...

today's meals: tea & petite middle finger sandwiches.

Aggie చెప్పారు...

By the way, all of this would be 95% corrected if they just sold airline tickets by the passenger pound.

Dust Bunny Queen చెప్పారు...

The US started putting calorie counts on menus to make us aware of how much we were eating. OK. But still my choice. when we rarely went out.....I would always pick the highest calorie dessert because...why not? I'm not going to eat or cook this at home and dang...it tasted good. TREAT!!!!

boatbuilder చెప్పారు...

Next up--Five-year plans mandating increases in agricultural production.
The British seem to be especially oblivious to economic history. Is it some ingrained belief that they can simply decree "solutions" to problems, or is it a reaction to America's messy but wildly successful approach? (which we have fallen away from at times, but the basic principles of freedom still apply).

Two-eyed Jack చెప్పారు...

Who could possibly believe, in the year 2025, that obesity could be resolved by convincing people to lay off the odd fizzy drink?

RCOCEAN II చెప్పారు...

Just require the restaurants to buy tiny chairs. Problem solved. Or perhaps trap doors that only work if the person is 240 lbs.

Dogma and Pony Show చెప్పారు...

I'm also skeptical of this claim. IIRC, a pound of fat corresponds to about 3,500 calories. So a reduction of 200 calories would mean one fewer pound every 17.5 days, or roughly 21 pounds per year. That would be a meaningful difference. However, it doesn't follow that every individual who cuts 200 calories/day is thereby LOSING weight. Some will still gaining weight and some will stay at their same weight, because they will still be running a daily calorie surplus (or maintaining a daily) equilibrium, because of all of the other calories they are consuming. I would certainly suspect that people who are ALREADY obese (i.e., the group who population NHS claims will be halved) are on a trajectory in which they're continuing to GAIN wait all the time. Therefore, a mere 200-calorie reduction may just result in obese people ending up somewhat less obese than they otherwise would have been, without significantly reducing the percentage of Britons who are obese.

RCOCEAN II చెప్పారు...

This is the kind of Stalinist nonsense you'd expect from the Labour party. As stated above, most fatties can't afford to get their "Mass quantities" of food at restaurants. They get it at home.

Iman చెప్పారు...

What’s all this then…

Dude1394 చెప్పారు...

I call bull on this.

Political Junkie చెప్పారు...

As someone who has been gaining weight, obesity is a problem. The Labour party idea is a bad one, however.

JAORE చెప్పారు...

Aggie made a comment that was my first thought. If I leave a spoon and a half of potatoes, a swallow of chicken and three green beans does the restaurant have to report? Can I bring an anorexic with me and "share"? (Economic opportunity - Rent a Beanpole!). Will I have to sign a form I won't head home and have a snack?
Take home boxes outlawed?
Geez, Louise what a can of worms (3 servings per can. 124 calories per serving.)

Cappy చెప్పారు...

Better living through starvation, tovarich!

tommyesq చెప్పారు...

Do that many restaurants really employ 250 or more people?

ga6 చెప్పారు...

Could not resist:
"All hail Big Brother."

MadTownGuy చెప్పారు...

200 calories to flatten the curve.

rehajm చెప్పారు...

This is Cass Sunstein logic gone haywire. Britons should lose weight by allowing giving every obese diner resources to train to punch Sunstein in the face…

boatbuilder చెప్పారు...

tommyesq--I didn't notice that 250 person figure at first. I wonder if it applies to chains as an aggregate figure. A single restaurant employing 250 people would be pretty large.

mindnumbrobot చెప్పారు...

English food sucks, so how could they have an obesity problem. Nobody is over eating that stuff. Also, 250+ employees is a damn big restaurant.

Rocco చెప్పారు...

Peachy said...
today's meals: tea & petite middle finger sandwiches.

If they’re petite, I am assuming they are ladyfingers.

Butkus51 చెప్పారు...

Move Pritzker to Britain

Just an old country lawyer చెప్పారు...

Tyrants gonna tyrant.

Dust Bunny Queen చెప్పారు...

"restaurants employing more than 250 workers"

Oh. I see. They are targeting fast food chains. Not real restaurants. Plus they report the average number of calories. So if all the fatties or 20 people with BIG appetites who just got off doing a manual labor job and need the calories go to a particular place, it is going to skew the real results.

Average vs Mean "The average, or mean, is calculated by adding all values in a set and dividing by the number of values, while the median is the middle value when the numbers are arranged in order. The median is often a better measure of central tendency when a data set contains outliers, as it is not affected by extremely high or low values."

Government, no matter where, is run by idiots.

Yancey Ward చెప్పారు...

Of course this won't make a bit of difference other than force restaraunts to hire people dedicated to collecting the information and the goverment to hire people to enforce it. This is nothing but a jobs program.

Dust Bunny Queen చెప్పారు...

Median not mean

Aggie చెప్పారు...

Once again, the prophesy comes from the Meaning of Life.....

Viva Maria చెప్పారు...

Government kickstarts the Atomic Oatmeal Club weight loss plan?

Kai Akker చెప్పారు...

The chef removed the sausage from your pizza because... well, you know, you're obviously, uh..... We keep a scale in back if you want to appeal, though. I say go for it!

George Leroy Tirebiter చెప్పారు...

Cut carbs & sugar, not calories & fat.

FormerLawClerk చెప్పారు...

Why doesn't the UK just force people to take Ozempic?

They let certain of their men rape kids. So this isn't that big of an ask.

Goldenpause చెప్పారు...

Elections have consequences.

RideSpaceMountain చెప్పారు...

@Aggie, if Python were still together they'd have a field day with this one.

FredSays చెప్పారు...

Oliver will be reported to the state as soon as he asks, ‘Please, sir, I want some more.’

LH in Montana చెప్పారు...

This sounds a lot like the MPG targets for vehicles. Car companies are selling too many gas guzzlers, so the government sets targets to force them to change what they manufacture. The UK restaurants will have to change their menus to balance out the total caloric amount of their menus. Pull the cheesecake and add cabbage side dishes! Or better yet, fire employees to make sure you don't have 250 or more. What could go wrong?

Levi Starks చెప్పారు...

Turns out free healthcare isn’t so free after all.

hombre చెప్పారు...

If only Labour’s commitment to telling Muslims who they can’t rape equaled their commitment to telling Brits what they can say and eat.

Peachy చెప్పారు...

Rocco - Not if she has man hands.

FullMoon చెప్పారు...

Meth is the answer. Lose wait, maximize productivity.
As with any beneficial drug, there may be side effects for some people. If you experience suicidal thoughts, erratic behavior, unusually rapid heartbeat, paranoia, loss of life, etc., contact your doctor as soon as possible.

bagoh20 చెప్పారు...

The core problem with progressivism is that by definition it is never satisfied - a female mentality.

FullMoon చెప్పారు...

"Dust Bunny Queen said...
Most people don't routinely eat in restaurants (excluding fast food take out types of eateries). The cost!! of eating "out" makes it a special treat or occasion. Then, of course, people will eat more and likely things they won't/can't cook at home."


Yep. American supermarkets are already collecting our info everytime a debit or credit card or a "club membership" card is used.
That info can be used to help determine which foods to put in ads in order to draw customers from particular locals into the store.

Original Mike చెప్పారు...

"The government will then set targets to 'increase the healthiness of sales.'... "

What does that mean? And how does the upfront data collection help?

BudBrown చెప్పారు...

No more super-sized cokes. Did Bloomberg consult?

Original Mike చెప్పారు...

To get useful information, they really need to couple the diner's order with their weight.

FullMoon చెప్పారు...

"Original Mike said...
To get useful information, they really need to couple the diner's order with their weight."

Good idea, mandatory weigh in.

Skeptical Voter చెప్పారు...

Figures don't lie, but liars can figure. Reduce intake by 200 calories a day, and "halve obesity". Only in the minds of British bureaucrats! Ah well they have to do something with their time.

Bob Boyd చెప్పారు...

This is a step on the path that leads to making people eat bugs. And then they will take away the bugs people like...for their own good and the greater good.

Lazarus చెప్పారు...

Will there be prizes for the restaurants, pubs, and customers with the highest calorie counts? It is England, after all.

PM చెప్పారు...

"Welcome to Danbury's. Turn your head and cough."

Rusty చెప్పారు...

It's fun to watch unintended consequences come around and bite em in the ass. As long as it's the other guy.

Bob B చెప్పారు...

The London (soon to be English) caliphate will review your choices to confirm they are halal.

gilbar చెప్పారు...

fun question..
what about the calories in beer? are they going to count those too?
if not; why not?

of course, as Bob B mentioned..
Beer drinking in britain will SOON be illegal (like bacon)

loudogblog చెప్పారు...

The problem with government studies like this is that they only look at the effect and not the underlying causes. They think that simply passing laws to restrict diets will magically solve the problem.

You need to figure out why people overeat. If you just restrict the diets, they'll just find something else unhealthy to do. (Like drug or alcohol abuse.)

loudogblog చెప్పారు...

And that might be a bigger financial strain on the NHS.

Jersey Fled చెప్పారు...

Makes me glad my great great grandparents on my mother’s side decide to leave for America.

Tom T. చెప్పారు...

One big problem is accounting for the number of diners who take half the meal home for tomorrow.

Achilles చెప్పారు...

The same government that wants you to count calories trying to reduce meat intake and promotes vegetable and carb based diets.

They promote a cow diet and are surprised and people turn into cows.

Standard government, efficiency, and effectiveness.

RNB చెప్పారు...

"If everyone who is overweight reduced their calorie intake by around 200 calories a day... obesity would be halved." These "just a little bit will accomplish a lot" calculations never work out as predicted. "The nation that controls molybdenum controls the world!" the not-at-all mad professor said.

Temujin చెప్పారు...

The Labour Party is so awful in the UK. Nothing is going well there, and Starmer is a bust. Articles are already predicting an early exit for him. The Tories are awful. Labour is awful. Kinda reminds one of home.

Rabel చెప్పారు...

Looks like the Brits can't blame HFCS. Not much in use over there.

Smilin' Jack చెప్పారు...

“Why doesn't the UK just force people to take Ozempic?”

Some of those right-wing nut jobs might object to that. Just put it in the water supply and don’t tell anyone.

Bunkypotatohead చెప్పారు...

The NHS cares about their costs, not your health. It would be much simpler for them to deny health care to the obese.
That will give the fatties an incentive to lose a few pounds.

AndrewV చెప్పారు...

George Orwell would look at this and say the he didn't think that Big Brother would go this far.

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