Call for Alcohol Calorie Warnings

ALCOHOLIC drinks should carry calorie count warnings because drinkers do not realise the contribution of booze to getting fat, town hall chiefs said yesterday.

The Local Government Association wants bottles and cans to feature nutrition statistics like other foods in a bid to counter the UK’s obesity epidemic.

It also called on restaurants and take aways to inform customers of the healthiness of their menu and offer more options for the weight-conscious.

The LGA said recent studies had found the average adult was adding an extra day’s worth of calories to their diet each week through alcoholic drinks alone.

Public health spokesman David Rogers said: “An average pint of beer has around 250 calories in it and yet most alcoholic drinks don’t have to put any kind of ingredient labelling on cans and bottles.

“There has been widespread publicity of how drink damages your health but most people are likely to be completely unaware of the effect it can have on their waistline.

“Bottles of wine or cans of beer should be properly labelled to let people know the effect that alcohol can have on their weight.”

Urging restaurants and takeaways to play their part, he went on: “As a nation we’re eating out more than ever before.

“When people eat out, it’s right that they should be able to get a rough idea of how much fat is in their curry or sugar in their ice cream.

“This shouldn’t become another burden on small businesses, so proposals wouldneedto be flexible and support from the Government forthcoming.”

He said food labelling in general still fell “woefully short” of what was required despite the adoption of “traffic light” symbols by some retailers.

“Providing people with understandable, helpful and coherent information written in plain English about the food they are eating would make a huge difference.

“It would be naive to suggest that food labelling alone is going to halt the obesity problem, there is no silver bullet to solve the issue,” he added.

“We need to eat better, exercise more and lead healthier lives in general and councils play a huge part in that.

“From providing children with free fruit and vegetables and planning towns and cities that encourage walking, to encouraging people to get into the gymand into sports, town halls are on the frontline of tackling obesity.”

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