So, stop having government targets then

Some issues really are Simples:

Family meals have become far more fattening since the Government set targets to reduce their calorie content.

The Government has been urging restaurants, supermarkets and manufacturers to cut calories from their foods, either by reformulating them or cutting portion size.

But an official report by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities shows Britons are consuming more calories than ever in meals and snacks.

The data show family meals now contain 10 per cent more calories per 100g than they did when the programme began recording measurements in 2017.

The volume of calorific food being consumed also rose significantly, partly fuelled by the rise of snacking and takeaways during the pandemic.

The figures show shoppers consumed 25.3 per cent more calories from crisps and snacks in 2021 than in 2017.

If government targets for lowering calorie counts in fact lead to higher calorie counts then the answer is to stop having government targets for calorie counts.

Simples.

This is not just a gotcha, nor an arf arf. It’s a serious point. We have had other examples of the contrariness of us humans out here. Calorie counts on menus have led to at least some people deciding to get more bang for their buck. If this meal is 800 calories, this one is 1,100, they’re both the same price, why not have the one with more calories? Food energy is, after all, one of the things that we eat in order to gain access to. So, thanks very much for the calorie counts on menus, I can now see which is the best bargain on that menu. I’ll have the Fatburger with large fries, thanks.

Micromanagement of us, the people, at this sort of level simply isn’t ever going to work. So, don’t do it.