85% want calorie information on menus

Support for policies targeting obesity is much higher in Ireland than in other European countries, research has found.

A Safefood study found 85% of people in Ireland want calorie and nutrient information on menus, compared to 56% in Britain and Italy.

Some 83% of people said they would support a ban on junk food advertising aimed at children, compared to 78% in Britain and Italy.

Around nine out of 10 people in Ireland are demanding:

- Education to promote healthy eating in schools;

- Government funding to improve exercise and playground facilities;

- Children exercising for at least 30 minutes every day while at school.

The report will be launched today in Belfast during a workshop hosted by Safefood.

Mary McCarthy, the co-author and principal investigator at the Health Research Board’s Centre for Health and Diet Research at University College Cork, said it showed Irish people recognised that many issues were contributing to the obesity crisis.

The study found that 86% of people want the Government to subsidise fruit and vegetables to promote healthier eating, while 79% want lower Vat rates for healthy foods and higher rates for unhealthy foods.

Cliodhna Foley-Nolan, director of human health and nutrition at Safefood, said that acceptance of child-focused policies was especially high at 92%.

Meanwhile, food manufacturers have been urged to cut added sugar levels by more than a third over the next five years on RTÉ’s Consumer Show.

The show revealed that the average adult gets 14.6% of daily calories from sugars added to food — the equivalent of 18 teaspoons.

The World Health Organisation’s aim is for adults to reduce added sugar consumption to just six teaspoons a day.