Something for EVERYONE to think about. WOULD you still drink that bottle of Coca-Cola if you knew it would require a run of nearly seven kilometres to burn off the calories? Scientists from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore think not and insist putting calorific information on food and drink is meaningless to most people. Instead, they reckon exercise data needs to be printed on packaging to work effectively, in findings published in the American Journal of Public Health. A 500ml bottle of Coke, for example, contains 210 calories, more than a 10th of the daily recommended intake for a woman. But scientists think that statistic is ignored by most and telling people it would take a 6.8 kilometre run, or 42-minute walk, to burn off the calories is far more effective. The researchers found teenagers given the information chose healthier or smaller drinks. And scientists from the University of North Carolina have called for the same approach on fast food restaurant menus. They say that if a menu tells you a double cheeseburger will take a 9 kilometre hike before the calories are burned off, most would rather choose a smaller hamburger which would require a walk of 4.2km. “When you explain calories in an easily understandable way you can encourage behaviour change,” said Professor Sara Bleich.
Posted on: Fri, 17 Oct 2014 07:19:45 +0000
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