A recent study, published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, claims adding exercise advice on food labels could help tackle the obesity crisis. "We think there is a clear signal that it might be useful,” study author Professor Amanda Daley of Loughborough University told a news portal. Adding, “We are not saying get rid of current labelling, we’d say add this to it.”
However, not everyone agrees. Hope Virgo, a mental health advocate feels this could be very "dangerous" for those who are suffering from an eating disorder. "Extremely triggering for people with eating disorders, yes, but it also goes wider than this. We are creating a society terrified of food and feeling hungry. I was obsessed with exercise with my eating disorder and it was something I had to do all the time. It nearly killed me," Hope told a news portal.
Adding, "Plus, people with obesity might have an eating disorder and we are not taking into account that in the slightest, but often just assuming they are lazy. We need to educate people more broadly on this."
A labelling system could help people consume fewer calories, almost 200 calories, at every meal, according to Loughborough University researchers, who conducted the study. The idea is to help tackle obesity across the globe.
However, Hope feels it could be harmful to those people who are vulnerable. "If I saw this in a shop I would get panicked and anxious," Hope told a news portal. Adding, "We learn the calories of everything, imagine if we then learnt the amount exercise we need to do for everything we eat."
Hope further explained: "We are all different sizes too, so surely we all need to do different amounts of exercise."
A Newcastle University study found the early detection of eating disorders in children is key to saving lives. "This research was not about investigating eating disorders themselves, rather we investigated risk factors for developing early eating disorder symptoms," study author Dr Elizabeth Evans, Research Associate at Newcastle University's Institute of Health and Society, told a news portal.
Adding, "Results suggest the need to detect eating disorder symptoms early, since a higher level of symptoms at nine years old was the strongest risk factor for a higher level of symptoms at 12 years old."
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