Recently, a law has been passed by the English government which states ‘Large businesses will be required to display calorie information on menus and food labels from April 2022’ This is considered to help people make ‘healthier choices’ whilst eating out, as they will constantly be reminded of the calories going into their body. I think it obvious to see what this could lead to. – severe mental health problems e.g. eating disorders, depression etc.  – this law is a clear indicator of how the government vastly prioritises physical health over mental health. Now whether this is the correct choice is up to opinion, so now I will be sharing some of the thoughts I have heard.

 

Some people say that physical health is more important as it is more likely to lead to illnesses and in some cases death.

However, I would just like to add that as I am from a younger generation than some of these people, I am more aware about mental health and the consequences of it, due to this reason I would like to emphasise that invalidating mental health is never okay and it should always be part of discussion.

 

To trace back to the point, their points basically state that obesity is a major issue and should be battled by letting people know how many calories are in a meal and for them to ‘hopefully’ make the ‘better’ decision. 63% of adults in England are overweight or living with obesity which hands down is an outstanding number, but I do not agree that the right way to deal with this, is to provide a law which could lead to mental health issues.

 

I think this all stems from the fact that invalidating and negating mental health is so normalised and accepted that people fail to see it as an issue. For some people their physical health is more important than their mental health and therefore having calories written down will be helpful for them. On the other hand, there are also people who need to focus on their mental and being reminded of the calories they’re eating is not very helpful.

 

It is all about choice. It should be mandatory that food shops know the number of calories the food has in it just for the people who want to know (two menus) and to not show the people who would prefer not to see it.  I think we have reached a time in society where it is time, we stop belittling mental health and see it as a genuine issue. It should be something that somewhat affects the final decision the government come up with.