Food Labels That Discuss Exercise Could Fight Obesity, New Study Suggests

In many places around the world, including the UK, it is required to place nutrition information on packed foods. By law, food manufacturers face stiff penalties if their prepacked foods are found without this label. This may soon include exercise labels if researchers have their way.

Physical Activity Labels

A new study, conducted by UK researchers, is claiming that putting Physical Activity Calorie Equivalent or PACE labels may help reduce approximately 200 calories from your average daily intake. They say labeling packed food with the amount of exercise required to burn off its calorie content helps in fighting obesity.

The suggested labeling system would inform the consumer that a chocolate bar with 230 calories will take 46 minutes of brisk walking or 23 minutes of running to burn off. It will also tell soda drinkers that a can of the beverage would require 13 minutes of running or 26 minutes of brisk walking to burn off.

Researchers analyzed data from 15 other studies on PACE labeling and discovered that people consume 65 fewer calories if they know the amount of exercise required to shed them off. The study’s authors were from Loughborough University. You can see their findings in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.

Understanding What Numbers Mean

According to the researchers, it factors calories into the framework, and as a result, it either inspires people to move a bit more or prevents them from overeating. The lead author of the study, Amanda Daley, in an interview with the Guardian, said they believe there is a solid basis that putting such labels on products may be useful. She added that they are not proposing to get rid of the present label but is suggesting adding exercise labels to it.

It has been proven by past studies that calorie counts on fast food and restaurant menus lowered calorie intake by as much as 60 calories. Advocates, however, are not too keen on the results of the study or the proposal being put forward by the researchers. They say such kind of labeling may not be good for those who have eating disorders.

Tom Quinn, the external affairs director of Beat, the foremost eating disorder charity organization in the UK, said that lots of people with eating disorders are struggling with excessive exercising. He added that being told the amount of exercise required of them to burn off some types of foods may exacerbate their symptoms. Daley, when interviewed by CNN, said she is aware of Quinn’s concern but asserts there is no existing research that PACE labeling may lead to eating disorders.