Britons should cut calorie intake to 1,800 per day, advise new official health guidelines
Rachel Hosie
27 كانون الأول 2017 16:11
Brits should cut their calorie intake to 1,800 a day, according to new guidance from Public Health England (PHE).
Until now, official government recommendations have stated that women should consume 2,000 calories a day, whereas men should consume 2,500.
The new guidelines, however, are the same for both men and women to keep things simple.
As part of a campaign expected to launch in March 2018 called One You, PHE recommend Brits split their calories over the course of a day with 400 for breakfast, 600 each for lunch and dinner, and 200 for snacks.
The government claim that most Brits are eating 200-300 calories more than we should every day.
The new guidelines are substantially lower than what we have been used to - and they may not go down too well with the public especially at Christmastime, when most people eat far more than usual - but PHE say they’re just a “rule of thumb.”
A spokesperson has also explained that the guidelines have been deliberately set low because they expect people to underestimate their calorie intake and forget about the calories in drinks.
Many people have been shocked by the new guidelines, with fitness experts pointing out that people have differing basal metabolic rates and activity levels so a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t really work.
However some officials hope the announcement will at least make people stop and think about how much they’re eating.
“This is a panic measure to get the public to understand they are eating too much,” Tam Fry, of the National Obesity Forum, told the Mail Online.
“Portion sizes are getting bigger and bigger and people are mindlessly eating them just because they are there. The idea is sound because we are eating too much, but my feeling is the thresholds are too low.”
And Christopher Snowdon, head of lifestyle economics at the Institute of Economic Affairs think-tank, points out that the 2,000/2,500 calorie guidelines for women and men have been well established for decades.
“Public Health England’s latest calorie guidelines are not based on evidence and are essentially a lie designed to manipulate people into eating less,” he said.
“This nanny-state agency makes it up as it goes along.”
With obesity rates at 27 per cent for both male and female adults in the UK, it is hard to deny that the country faces a crisis.
The UK is the most obese nation in Western Europe.
A PHE spokesman said: “We can no longer hide behind the charade that having a takeaway or eating out is merely a treat. Adults consume 200 to 300 excess calories each day and this calorie creep is contributing to weight gain and other serious health conditions.
“This is why we’re working with high street chains to offer healthier options through our reduction programmes and new One You nutritional campaign.”