Obesity is a growing problem worldwide including in the UK. Therefore, British experts on foods have recommended a few things to limit the increasing waist sizes.
Snack taxes are one of those. To escape these, snack-making companies have already invented and are marketing healthier snacks.
Obesity and expert recommendations to curb it
Obesity is increasing in the world. In the UK too, high body mass indices are a growing concern. Both young and old including children are in the grip of this obesity epidemic.
One of the main reasons for this epidemic is the unhealthy lifestyle. This includes junk food consumption and unhealthy snacking.
Junk foods (Source: Kalish foods)Health experts have recommended to the UK government measures to control this epidemic. They have requested for bans on advertisements of junk food in any mass media including social media platforms. Additionally, they have called for snack taxes.
These would be applied to all snacks but mostly the unhealthy fried and oily ones. The experts have asked for cigarette-style warnings to be put on the labels of these snacks.
Will this help, it is not known. But such dangerous warning labels on cigarettes have not helped stop people from smoking!!!
Healthier snacks on market shelves
Because unhealthy snacks are responsible for obesity, many health-savvy manufacturers have already started the production of healthier snacks for the masses.
These are meant to replace the older unhealthy versions. These would include doughnuts, ice creams, and chocolates. The companies are trying to eliminate sugars in their products and cut down on the total calories.
Nick’s chocolate (Source: Desert cart)People against the danger warning labeling on food products believe that these measures are outdated and will not benefit. They feel that reformulation of these products to produce healthy ones would be the best approach.
Food production houses such as Nick’s and Urban Legend are already marketing products that are less in fats, sugars, and calories and also salt.
Campaign group Action on Sugar feels that all treat manufacturers should slowly move to produce healthy snacks. This will help everyone in the long run.
Nick’s chocolate and Urban Legend Doughnuts
Sweden-based food engineer Niclas Luthman started research in 2014 and has come out with Nick’s chocolate. They come in 5 different flavors.
It has a Snickers alternative with 9 times less sugar and lesser calories. These have no added sugars or artificial sweeteners. The sweet taste is thanks to xylitol or birch sugar, polydextrose which are sweet fibers from corn, and erythritol found in pears and plums.
But they are costlier. Professor Gunter Kuhnle, a nutrition and food science expert from the University of Reading states that such reformulations can improve diet and reduce caloric intake.
But he also cast doubt on the success of these reformulations. He explained that people might eat more if they know it is healthier.
Urban Legend doughnuts (Source: Boxpark)High street doughnuts give 550 calories. But Urban Legend Doughnuts provide only 168 calories. It has low sugar, fats, and salt.
The company sweetens the dough made of wheat flour and water with extracts from melons, pears, roots, and leaves such as chicory fiber and stevia. The deep-frying step is skipped. Fortunately, it is healthier and also less costly.
Also, read Vitamin E and its role in the reduction of obesity!
Similarly, Halo Top ice cream has sugar substitutes stevia and erythritol to give sweetness to the food.