More than 100,000 obesity-related deaths could be prevented across England over the next two decades if food manufacturers were compelled to display clear nutrition warning labels on their products, new research suggests.
Experts from the University of Liverpool found that mandatory front-of-pack warnings for items high in fat, salt, or sugar – a system already in place in several countries – could significantly reduce the number of overweight people and ultimately save lives.
Chile led the way in 2016, introducing a law requiring a black octagonal warning on the front of food and drink packaging deemed unhealthy. Mexico and Canada have since followed suit.
In contrast, the UK currently only mandates nutritional information on the reverse of food packaging, with front-of-pack details, such as the traffic light system, remaining voluntary.
The study, published in the Lancet Regional Health – Europe, utilised modelling to assess the potential impact. It projected that mandatory traffic light labelling between 2024 and 2043 could lead to a 2.34 per cent reduction in obesity prevalence.
It could also prevent or postpone 57,000 obesity-related deaths.
But mandatory implementation of nutrient warning labelling – as seen in other countries – would have a bigger effect, with a 4.44 percentage point reduction in obesity prevalence and 110,000 fewer obesity-related deaths.
The authors concluded that nutrient warning labels should now be considered by the Government.
Dr Rebecca Evans, corresponding author of the study, said: “Our findings suggest that mandatory nutrient warning labels could deliver substantial health benefits for the population, reducing both obesity rates and related mortality.
“These results support current government discussions about alternative labelling approaches and provide robust evidence to guide future UK food labelling policy.”
Dr Zoe Colombet, an author on the study, said: “Nutrition labels are a simple yet powerful tool.
“Making them mandatory could help people make healthier food choices and encourage the food industry to rethink what goes on our shelves, helping to prevent thousands of deaths linked to obesity”.
Amanda Daley, professor of behavioural medicine at Loughborough University, said: “We need effective public health interventions to reduce the number of deaths related to people living with obesity and mandatory warning labels on food may be one way to achieve this.
“Importantly, we need the food industry to play their part in helping people to make informed decisions about the food they purchase and consume.
“The requirement for food manufacturers in the United Kingdom to include warning labels may encourage the sector to consider more carefully the contents and portion size of food items that they sell.
“Let’s not forget, the public have the right to be fully informed about the impact of the food they consume on their health.”
Dr Jordan Beaumont, from Sheffield Hallam University, said: “Traffic light labelling is a useful tool for consumers but can be tricky to interpret in context of our wider food choices and dietary intake.
“Given we often have very little time to actually inspect labelling and make truly informed decisions when shopping for food, nutrition warning labels provide simpler and more explicit information that is quick and easy to interpret, which explains the larger impact of such information in this modelling.”
Andrea Martinez-Inchausti, assistant director of food at the British Retail Consortium, which represents retailers, said: “Retailers are fully committed to helping improve the health of their customers and have been consistent in providing advice on healthy living, including providing nutritional information on all their products.
“Supermarkets have also keenly adopted the traffic light system for nutritional information on their own products.”
The Department of Health has been contacted for comment.
