On Air Holiday Music Mark Burrows | 10:00am - 2:00pm

Government to resume work with retailers to combat obesity

No plans for calorie counts on Manx menus

Government's public health team plans to resume work with food retailers to reduce the level of overweight and obesity in the Manx population.

A programme of actions was drawn up in 2017, but had to be put on hold over the pandemic.

It included the possibility of working with retailers to improve access to healthy food and encouraging portion control in cafes and restaurants.

Now the pressure of Covid-19 on Public Health has eased, this work is due to recommence.

In the UK, 'food out of home' businesses with 250 or more employees must now show calorie counts on their menus.

Manx Director of Public Health, Dr Henrietta Ewart, says the evidence that this supports healthy weight or weight loss is not strong.

Her team thinks more can be achieved by working alongside businesses than solely forcing them to publish calorie counts.

More from Isle of Man News