Open Access News Health & Social Care News The hidden health costs of eating out August 27, 2024 image: ©FilippoBacci | iStock Eating out exerts a significant influence on public health, yet consumers remain largely unaware of the nutritional quality of their meals. As diet-related diseases surge, transparency in this sector is imperative Restaurant chains, cafes, and takeaways wield massive influence over public health. Yet, there’s a glaring problem: we are largely kept in the dark about the nutritional quality of the meals we eat out.
As diet-related diseases like obesity, diabetes, and heart disease skyrocket globally, the need for transparency in the out-of-home (OOH) food sector has never been more urgent. Recent research by Action on Salt and Action on Sugar, Queen Mary University of London, Obesity Health Alliance, Bite Back and Nesta (funded by ShareAction) sheds light on the OOH food industry in the UK, diving into the 10 best-selling menu items of 19 of the 20 largest companies, including Domino’s, Pizza Hut and McDonald’s. There were two key findings: Industry opaque: Limited nutritional information when eating out Firstly, the industry is extremely opaque: most companies do not share complete enough information on the ingredients or nutrition of the meals they sell.
In fact, 50% of leading UK OOH companies don’t disclose essential data like ‘nutrients per 100g’ or serving weights, and 50% don’t even provide ingredient lists online. This stands in s.