Britain to restrict promotion of unhealthy food

I spent most of my life binge eating/dieting. And when I smoked I chain smoked. In fact, this past year is the first year in my life since I went on my first diet at the age of 16 that I’ve actually enjoyed cooking and eating. The over eating never made me happy: it was as if I was punishing myself in some way. I guess some of us have addictive personalities. The more I worried about what smoking was doing to me the more I smoked. Nicotine being one of the most addictive substances in the world imo. It is very complex.

janeainsworth IMO The emotional relationship with food is much overlooked. It's complex and I'm no psychologist, so I can't comment too much.

I think it's a bit odd when people complain about the "powers that be" stopping them from eating bad foods, such as those parents who passed unhealthy food over the school fence, when schools tried to introduce healthier options. What they seem to be saying is that the state is trying to get their children to be healthier, as though it's a crime against freedom.

Why is it that people overeat when they're unhappy or stressed? I guess I'm lucky because I can't eat when I'm stressed. I also think a picture of a really fresh-looking, colourful salad is more appetising than a chocolate cake.

It is a question many people are asking.

I had just been reading about the way Christmas was banned and policed dureing the 17th century and it held many reminders of the way lockdowns have been imposed and it got me wondering whether a government that had so successfully controlled the country with one draconian set of measures, followed by another, could easily give up the habit
That’s a relief MOnica you had me worried there
Interestingly I was watching a recording of a webinar from the Economist today & one of the speakers made that very point, that the State having been able to exercise power during the pandemic, would make it easier for it to retain power, or assume greater ones, in the future.

*JaneAinsworth, the last line was somewhat tongue in cheek, I had just been reading about the way Christmas was banned and policed dureing the 17th century and it held many reminders of the way lockdowns have been imposed and it got me wondering whether a government that had so successfully controlled the country with one draconian set of measures, followed by another, could easily give up the habit.

I mean after a year when many people did not work and got paid, it would be easy to suggest that we should make up for lost time in later years by working through the Christmas period.

The difference is that people can't give up eating and there isn't the same kind of social stigma

That’s an interesting point about stigma Growstuff. At one time, if you didn’t smoke, you were considered odd. A friend who did nursing in the 60’s once told me it was virtually obligatory in nursing circles to smoke. I think the stigma attached to smoking only really developed after the ban came in, and people could feel the benefits of not breathing in other people’s cigarette smoke.

As regards obesity, I think there is stigma - or at least some obese people perceive there to be - and that is why the concept of ‘fat-shaming’ has arisen, and groups have proliferated online defending the right of people to be obese and calling out others who fat-shame people.
I agree people can’t give up eating, but they can modify what they eat and they can modify their emotional relationship with food.
But that takes courage and enormous effort and the desire for change, and I think public health campaigns which are often seen as hectoring or nannying aren’t really what motivate people.

I think it was both as with a number of campaigns, smoking, drink driving, you need the law and a cultural shift.

Did people start eating too much to compensate for not smoking? I thought obesity started rising before the bans on smoking were introduced.

janeainsworth The difference is that people can't give up eating and there isn't the same kind of social stigma.

The thing that interests me is that people seem to know more about micro-nutrients (vitamins, minerals, etc.) than they do about getting the balance and quantities of macro-nutrients (carbs, fat, protein) right. I suspect that's because dieting is a multi-billion pound/dollar business.

Fennel I don’t think it was health education that changed people’s behaviour around smoking.
It was banning it in public places.

Previous govts. tried the same policy with smoking, and eventually it worked.
Then what happened? We started to eat instead and became obese.
Or some of us. There are still many skinny smokers here.

Monica I too dislike the taste & smell of artificial sweeteners. Bottle Green cordials don’t have them in & have an interesting variety of flavours www.bottlegreendrinks.com/cordial/plump-summer-raspberry

Re small lots of cream. You can get 150ml cartons of cream at Morrisons (and other supermarkets I’m sure) which I believe are the size of a small pot of yoghurt.
Like the Puritans this lot have already started an insidious campaign to ban Christmas
Who have? What have they done?

I think the introduction of standard packaging sizes could help. Soft drinks limited to one litre bottles, cereals haveing standard weights.

Some foods do come in standard packaging - sugar, butter, flour. If it works for those commodities why not for all fats, cereals, biscuits etc.

It would also stop manufacturers from deceiving consumers by putting goods in oversized packets with the weight in tiny print on the back. The consumer would know that all biscuits would be in packs of no more than 8oz/225gms, however big and flash the box.

Wouldn’t it have been a good idea to continue to liaise with Jamie Oliver on his campaign to get children to eat more healthily?

Well, it isn’t the shops that provide the free one but the manufacturer. I think sometimes they’re asked to do it by the shop but sometimes it’s to get more sales at the end of a financial year. I need to ask DH about it because he worked in sales but he’s asleep: I’ll ask him tomorrow. I think it’s good that some supermarkets offer free fruit for children but don’t know if it’s still happening given that I no longer go to shops.

Oh, I agree- Packaging has been an ongoing issue- And freezer space to store the extra-

I think having food sold in smaller packages would help.

For example when did you last see a yoghourt pot sized portion of cream on sale. I was almost first in the supermarket one morning in Christmas week and had to buy a pint of cream or none at all. Christmas is about the only time I buy cream, but I have noticed that small sizes of almost any item are disappearing. Remember when there were small tins of soup, half-sized tins of tomatoes, vegetables, etc.

I know you can - and I do, freeze almost everything, but my freezer is full of plastic containers with half portions of food that used to come in smaller sizes.

Health education doesn't change what foods people crave or the amount they consume- This has been proven time and again- They know that what they are eating is junk and eat it regardless- We are all dirt poor anyway due to soil being depleted of nutrients- As a result, what we eat is fertilizer forced and in no way shape or form as nutritious as the food our parents consumed-

growstuff

I agree with MOnica. No single foodstuff is inherently unhealthy. The quantities and balance of different foods in a diet are unhealthy.

IMO this is ridiculous. It would be better to invest in proper health education about what's in food.

Quite! Nothing wrong with promotions as such just what people do with them having bought them.

Education is what is needed.

Calendargirl I am all for them changing their ways, providing it is not at the expense of others

The rules that put a tax on high sugar levels in soft drinks has meant almost every manufacturer replaced some of the sugar in their soft drinks with sweeteners. Unfortunately, I am one of that group of people who can taste - and smell sweeteners and the taste and smell is unpleasant.

This Christmas, although I scoured two supermarkets, I could not find a single bottle of lemonade that did not contain sweetener.

I have thrown at least half a dozen of what used to be fruit juices away, because the manufacturer has secreted the words 'juice drink' on the back of the packet and replaced some of the sugar with sweetener. I now dare not buy any kind of soft drink anywhere without taking out a magnifying glass to read all the small print.

I have never been a heavy consumer of soft drinks, but at times, on a long car journey, a lovely day in the garden, at Christmas, with a vermouth, I like some lemonade. This pleasure is now barred to me. Water is dandy, but now and again, I would like to drink something else.

M0nica

Currently I am eating lots of so called bad foods because it is Christmas. Come the new year I will return to eating in my normal manner. Lots of fruit and veg, and little or no processed or sweetened food.

Like the Puritans this lot have already started an insidious campaign to ban Christmas.

We are probably all eating too much ‘bad’ food at the moment MOnica, I have had both a bit of Christmas Pudding and Christmas cake for my tea, but like you I will soon be back to normal eating lots more fruit and veg and little or no cake and puddings.

Trouble is, there are far too many people who eat the ‘bad’ stuff all the time, and yes, they do need to be encouraged to change their ways.

Currently I am eating lots of so called bad foods because it is Christmas. Come the new year I will return to eating in my normal manner. Lots of fruit and veg, and little or no processed or sweetened food.

Like the Puritans this lot have already started an insidious campaign to ban Christmas.

Cutting out, or down on sugar is a good start. It is amazing the amount of food you find it in!

Why do you think that food will "sky rocket in price" EllenVannin?

It's because food will skyrocket in price so this is known as preparing for the inevitable. No more " bogoffs ".

I agree with MOnica. No single foodstuff is inherently unhealthy. The quantities and balance of different foods in a diet are unhealthy.

IMO this is ridiculous. It would be better to invest in proper health education about what's in food.