Information on the calorific value of products placed on the packaging is not enough to stop us from eating them. It is also necessary to indicate how much time we must devote to physical effort to use up the energy contained in these products. This is the appeal of prof. Amanda Daley of Loughborough University, UK, in an article in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community He alth.
In order to burn the calories contained in the pizza, we have to walk for 4 hours. After eating a 229 calorie chocolate bar, you would have to run for at least 22 minutes. A muffin cookie has almost 300 calories and a double chicken and bacon sandwich has almost 450 calories. Meanwhile, 50 minutes of running should be spent on burning about 500 calories.
Prof. Amanda Daley of Loughborough University requests that food packaging and restaurant menus should not only contain information about calories, but also how much time it takes to be physically active to burn those calories. In her opinion, such an evaluation of consumed food can reduce our daily intake by 200 calories.
In putting forward this thesis, the British specialist refers to the analysis of 14 studies that have been carried out so far in this area. They show that we pay more and more attention to various ways that make it easier for us to decide what to eat, when and how much, and persuading us to exercise more. Prof. Daley also reminds that poor nutrition and low physical activity contribute to overweight and obesity. According to her, new information on the packaging of products will affect our nutritional decisions: before we eat, for example, sweets, we will think how much time we will have to spend to use the energy that they provided us.
To the request of prof. Daley agrees with the British Royal Society for Public He alth. Society experts remind that men should consume up to 2,500 calories each day, and women - up to 2,000 calories.
Prepared on the basis of: PAP, family- medicine.esculap.com