Health Experts Want to Put Exercise Requirement Labels on Your Food

Do you want to know exactly how much exercise it takes to burn off that cheeseburger you just ate?

Exercise Labels On Food?

A UK health organization wants to tell you exactly that by requiring all packaged food to be labeled with the amount of exercise it would take to burn off each serving.

The UK’s Royal Society for Public Health hopes that these changes will reduce obesity by changing eating behavior.

This announcement comes at the same time we just learned that there are more obese people than underweight people worldwide.

Why do we need exercise labels on the food we eat?

What will these labels look like? Are these changes ever going to come to America?

Let’s take a closer look at this issue.

It’s Because People Ignore Calorie Counts

We already have calorie count information on the foods we eat. Why do we need more information about how bad our food is for our health?

Well, according to the Royal Society for Public Health’s study, which was recently published in the journal BMJ, people no longer pay attention to calorie labels. Adding exercise labels on the front of the container would help people make better choices:

“…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.”

The Labels Will Encourage People to Start Making Good Habits Instead of Stopping Bad Habits

Another reason why the RSPH is advocating for the change is that it’s encouraging people to stop with their bad habits and start a good habit. Calorie counts simply encourage people to stop a bad habit.

It takes more than just healthy eating for most people to lose weight. By advocating exercising, the RSPH is hoping that some people will be encouraged to join the gym, go for walks, and understand that one more cookie isn’t worth two more miles of extra running.

How Do the Labels Work?

The RSPH hasn’t actually added the labels to any foods. Instead, they’re only recommending that the labels be added in the near future.

If the labels do start to appear on our food, then the labels will explain how much exercise you need to burn off the number of calories in that food item.

For example, you might see a required exercise rating of 1.5 miles of running on your next bag of Doritos.

The proposed labels would be next to the “Nutrition Facts” section you currently see on most food items. The label explains the calorie amounts along with the total fat and other values. Ideally, the RSPH wants that label to also explain the amount of exercise required to burn off the equivalent number of calories.

Will This Ever Arrive in America?

Certain states are already required to publish calorie count information on their food items.

For example, New York and California have both seen calorie count laws pass. These laws require “restaurant chains of fifteen or more to publish detailed food energy and nutritional information on the food served.” That’s why you can’t buy a milkshake at a restaurant in California without first learning about how that milkshake is going to kill you with its 1200 calories and 60% daily value of saturated fat.

Nevertheless, this latest study is only a recommendation about the future of food labeling. It’s also a recommendation from a UK-based organization – not an American organization.

At this point, it seems unlikely that the regulations will come anywhere close to America in the near future.