If you have not seen the recent documentaries or articles on how much exercise is required to 'work off' calories and how people's relationship with food is altered when across this knowledge, then our latest blog will be very fascinating & intuitive.
Does equating calories to exercise make us eat less?
If physical activity calorie equivalent (PACE) labelling on food could help in the fight against obesity then YES. The idea is, if we are faced with the reality of what it’ll take to burn off that chocolate bar or indulgent main, we might be more likely to choose something healthier.
Results showed that PACE labelling could lead to people cutting up to 200 calories from their diet. The evidence shows that even a relatively small reduction in daily calorie intake (100 calories) combined with a sustained increase in physical activity is likely to be good for health and could help curb obesity at the population level. PACE labelling may help people achieve this.
Should food be labelled with exercise equivalents?
While some people stick with their pudding choice because they see it as a special treat, others are shocked by the exercise times that they change their selection for a less calorific dessert.
This poses a moral question though: Should people be able to enjoy eating what they want without having to look at such statistics or does the obesity crisis justify this shock-tactic?
There is of course a further issue which is important to consider, and one which The Royal Society For Public Health has addressed. It had previously explained that PACE labelling had “the potential to help moderate calorie intake”, but the organisation has since altered its stance.
Activity equivalent labelling is something we have wanted to move away from, not just because it places responsibility on the individual, but also because we are very aware of the negative consequences it could have on some people. Although this type of labelling might make people think twice about what they’re eating, we would never want it to have a detrimental effect on those with eating disorders or mental health problems. However, research shows that on a population level, activity equivalent labelling could be one effective initiative to reduce obesity, and therefore we have not revoked the paper.
How can GHN encourage people to make healthier dietary choices?
GHN work very closely with reputable body transformation coaches, personal trainers, sports dieticians and nutritionist. Many of them agree that sticking to the basics and not over complicating people's minds is key to educating them and helping them achieve their physical goals. If you are a calorie counter then GHN also recommend that look our product collections that can and will help lower those calorie limits or help increase the calorie limits, depending on your physical goals.
If you missed our previous blogs that have professional & insightful knowledge to help you achieve those physical goals then revisit -
Finally, we also recommend the use of updated calorie tracker apps & devices to help you understand daily calorie intake vs calorie expenditure, as well as help you observe accurately .
Here are 6 GHN highly recommend -
1.FitBit
2.Healthy Out
3.Lose It
4.My Fitness Pal
5.Nutritionix Track
6. Rise