The Royal Society of Public Health says that introducing ‘activity-equivalent’ labelling would help to tackle the growing obesity crisis.
The society says that including pictures of ‘stick men’ jogging, swimming and cycling, in each case accompanied by the number of minutes it would take to burn off the calories contained in the product, would prompt consumers to choose healthier options or exercise more.
For example, to work off the calories of an average chocolate bar, consumers would have to jog for 40 minutes, cycle for 49 minutes or swim for 29 minutes.
Dr Nigel Minihane, head of the Island’s Primary Care Trust, said that the packaging could help to promote healthier lifestyle choices. ‘I think it might help to put things in context and make people look at their lifestyle generally,’ he said.
