Tag Archives: the British Medical Journal

Food labelling law commences

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As part of the UK government’s so-called “Public Health Responsibility Deal”, a number of fast food outlets are about to adopt a voluntary scheme to add calorie information to their menus. But how effective is this in helping the fight against obesity?

In 2008, a law was introduced in New York where fast food chains with 15 or more branches nationally had to provide calorie information on menus.

The results of a study into the effectiveness of the law suggest that it may have had a small but positive impact in reducing the number of calories New Yorkers consume.

Researchers questioned more than 7,000 customers in 2007 and another 8,489 in 2009 about their eating habits at 168 randomly selected locations of the top 11 fast food chains in New York City, to find if the new law had any effect on the number of calories consumed.

Food labelling

Food labelling

Overall there was no actual reduction in total calories consumed. However, this is partly explained by the Subway fast food chain, which heavily promoted larger portions, and saw calorie consumption increase by nearly 20 per cent.

In three major chains there were clear reductions in calories consumed, with McDonald’s customers cutting back 5.3 per cent, KFC’s 6.4 per cent and Au Bon Pain 14.4 per cent. Significantly, these three chains accounted for over 40 per cent of all participants in the study.

The analysis also showed that 15 per cent of customers reported using the calorie information and, on average, these customers purchased 106 fewer kilocalories than customers who did not see or use the calorie information.


Beatrice Brooke at the British Heart Foundation said: “One in six meals in the UK is eaten away from home so it’s essential we know what’s in the food we’re buying in restaurants and cafes.

“The New York research shows us just how valuable calorie labelling in fast food restaurants can be, helping people eat as many as 100 fewer calories.

“Menu calorie counts are a great first step towards providing easily accessible information in restaurants about a whole range of nutrients, including saturated fat, sugar and salt.

“Fast food retailers in the UK must take action to help diners make informed choices about the meals they buy.”

The study is published online in the British Medical Journal.

Keep taking the aspirin

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Heart disease patients are being urged to keep taking aspirin after a study has found stopping the drug raises heart attack risk by nearly two-thirds.

Against medical advice, up to half of long-term users are believed to stop taking aspirin, researchers say in the British Medical Journal.

And this puts them at a 60% greater risk of a non-fatal heart attack.

The findings come from a UK database of nearly 40,000 patients who had been prescribed the drug by their doctor.

For every 1,000 patients over a one-year period, there were about four extra cases of non-fatal heart attack among patients who recently stopped taking low-dose aspirin compared with those who stayed on it.

aspirin

Aspirin

Low-dose aspirin is recommended for all heart disease patients to help prevent blood clots which can lead to future heart attacks.

Ellen Mason, of the British Heart Foundation, said: “This research is yet another reminder of how effective a little daily pill of aspirin can be at preventing someone from having another heart attack. So it’s very concerning how many people with heart disease are not taking their aspirin.


“This very cheap, but valuable, golden oldie is one of the best researched drugs we have in our arsenal to stop further heart attacks. The benefits certainly outweigh any risks for most people.

“If you’ve had a heart attack then stopping taking your aspirin increases your risk of having another heart attack and this can result in permanent damage to your heart. Don’t simply stop taking your meds, always talk to your doctor first.”