A UK health group is urging the food industry to explore adding "activity equivalent" calorie labels to food and beverage products, or the amount of physical exercise needed to burn off a product's calories.
For example, a chocolate bar that contains 229 calories might carry an image on its wrapper of a walker with 42 minutes next to it, a runner (22 min) and a biker (49 min).
"The aim is to prompt people to be more mindful of the energy they consume and how these calories relate to activities in their everyday lives, to encourage them to be more physically active," wrote Shirley Cramer, chief executive of the Royal Society for Public Health, in an opinion article published in the British Medical Journal.
Public polling of 2,000 consumers by the group finds almost half (44 percent) find current front-of-pack information confusing. More than half (53 percent) say they would positively change their behavior as a result of viewing "activity equivalent" calorie information, including choosing healthier products, eating smaller portions or doing more physical exercise.
Under the "activity equivalent" system, exercise counts are based on a certain age and weight, so consumers would have to adjust the information based on their individual situation.
Ms. Cramer acknowledges that messages around healthy and varied eating must also continue. She also acknowledged concerns raised about the possible negative implications for people with eating disorders. But she added, "We have a responsibility to promote measures to tackle the biggest public health challenges facing our society, such as obesity."
Some critics argue that activity equivalent symbols undersell the wider benefits of healthy eating and that exercise doesn't burn that many calories.
"I think we need to do a better job of explaining to the public that calories consumed outweigh the calories exercised. For the most part, you cannot outrun your fork," Dr. Yoni Freedhoff, medical director of the Bariatric Medical Institute in Ottawa, told CBC News.
- Activity equivalent labeling - Royal Society for Public Health
- Food should be labeled with the exercise needed to expend its calories - British Medical Journal
- Should food labels include exercise 'equivalents'? - CNN
- Food labels should include exercise needed to burn off calories, U.K. researchers suggest - CBC News