Displaying calories on menus is not the answer.
The proposed legislation for restaurants, cafes and takeaways with over 250 employees, to display calories on their menus has appalled and concerned many eating disorder professionals. It could be very detrimental to the welfare of many eating disorder sufferers whose relationships with calories are often deep rooted and complex. For many the calorific content of food is the compass by which they navigate their food choices.
A patient works extremely hard with their therapist to break the perpetual cycle of calorie counting, which has been a fundamental part of their illness and the journey of rewiring thought processes can be a long and painful one. For many sufferers visiting a restaurant to eat is a significant step in their recovery, often fraught with anxiety, as they face many fears including eating in public, and having to choose a meal that they have no control over preparing. This may not sound hard for many people, but the enormity of it for someone with an eating disorder must not be overlooked. Part of the work they will have participated in will have included challenging food fears, looking at food as fuel and breaking down myths and rules they have built up in their minds. So, reaching the point of being able to go out for a meal has taken much emotional energy, hard work and time. Consequently, these new rules will impose so much unnecessary pressure on them and they may fear public shame for the meal choice they make which will exacerbate their illness. Eating disorder sufferers already place so much importance on external validation and the new ruling would further compound this issue.
We are setting up a whole generation of young people to become obsessed with calories, which in themselves, do not reflect the complete nutritional value of a food. There is also the very real risk that, as well as worsening existing eating disorders, it could be a trigger for new eating disorders. This is extremely worrying as cases of eating disorders have already risen sharply over the pandemic and the pressure on treatment services, which are already struggling, would intensify.
The social benefits of eating out and connecting with friends and family should not be underestimated, especially after a year of restrictions due to the pandemic. For many people eating out is something they do occasionally and not on a daily or even weekly basis, a time to relax and unwind, so even for them being faced with the calorific content of their meal could take away a little of the enjoyment. It is important to remember how these social connections enhance our wellbeing. A person’s socio-economic status also has a bearing on their overall health which needs to be fully considered in future proposals to enable everyone to benefit from them.
It is acknowledged by health professionals that it is the daily habits that people form that have the greatest impact on their physical and mental health therefore it is education that is vital, such as teaching people how to cook, exercise in a healthy way and where necessary receive the appropriate psychological support. This is where the focus needs to be to enable our society, as a whole, to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Displaying calories on menus is simply not the solution to this complex issue.