[r_p4rk]

UK has bigger problems than the ingredient breakdown in foods, the drinking and food culture is entirely based around excess. Go out on the weekend, drink 12 pints, have a kebab while drunkenly stumbling home, wake up and order in takeout because you're too hungover to cook, skip the gym, have a large Sunday roast - eat a half packet of biscuits with your tea.

The government need to start teaching about macronutrient breakdowns and calorie intake during early years, mandate that takeaways label their food with the macro-nutritional information, and let people be educated about the amount of food and drink they are consuming.

[cnity]

People don't tan 12 pints on a weekend, have a kebab and order a takeout because they think this is a healthy lifestyle.

[jen20]

I for one am bored of this trope about Londoners.

Surely everyone knows that 12 pints and a Kebab is for after a meetup on a Tuesday, not the weekend?!

[YeGoblynQueenne]

They sure brag about it afterwards though so it's certainly a lifestyle they think is worth having.

[mbg721]

I really hope this is a bit of hyperbole...12 pints is a LOT.

[tomjen3]

Its what happens when adults are bored and don't see any benefit in not doing it.

[swarnie]

People don't need a nanny state to tell them 12 pints and a kebab are a shitty life choice, i refuse to believe people are this stupid.

[tentacleuno]

I don't believe that was what OP was suggesting; the addition of nutritional information for fast food outlets would be very welcome, personally. It'd be very informative to see the caloric breakdown and macros of food consumed from such joints. We already have macro-nutritional information for beers, why not extend that to what is commonly ordered with beer, too?

Furthermore, education on caloric intake and macro-nutrients in general would be a very wise decision. From experience, schools in the UK tend to skip what many would consider the essentials (sex education, dieting) to focus on more academic ventures -- it's good that we're focusing on academia, but we also need to place a greater spotlight on ensuring we live healthy lives; this is something regulators and the Government in general are very well-positioned to enforce.

The only real lectures we had on dieting were wishy-washy "eat vegetables" talk, which is glaringly obvious to pretty much anyone. Teaching people how to incorporate them into a meal seems like the logical next step.

Regarding educational institutions, I would much rather such information be presented to children in place of Baccalaureate programs which schools receive kickbacks from the Government to do; I did one and found that the majority of students (including myself) found the entire venture pointless and excruciating.

N.B. A semi-related note: For someone on a restrictive diet such as myself (e.g. keto), having nutritional information for beer is a very welcome luxury. I'm able to have a drink with friends while knowing how it would affect my total intake of carbohydrates for the day.

[swarnie]

> the addition of nutritional information for fast food outlets would be very welcome,

I really don't see it... We know a Big Mac is a shitty life choice, how is putting a number next to it going to help (we already do this i think)

When did you leave school out of interest? We did pretty comprehensive sex education, self care, hygiene, cooking, nutrition classes ect ect. Hell we even did managing money and understanding taxation.

I dont think the issue is education, the information is out there and has been for a long, long time. The issue is getting people to care.

[toyg]

> a Big Mac is a shitty life choice, how is putting a number next to it going to help (we already do this i think)

Yeah "we" do: McD boxes report nutritional information, possibly even the wrappers. I'm sure the numbers are a bit gamed, but they are painfully high even like that. Same for "pizza": Domino's, Pizza Hut, etc, they all report caloric intake on their online menus, even in surprisingly visible places.

People (me included, often) still don't care, because we already know that these are all "sins" - classifying them into minor sins and mortal sins does very little. We should ask ourselves why we sin, instead. But that's hard, and risks messing up the current order.

[BoxFour]

It's likely more about the social circle you surround yourself with. When everyone around you is consistently drinking and indulging in such dietary habits, it can give the illusion of normalcy and social acceptability, even if, from an objective standpoint, it's an unhealthy choice.

The bigger challenge is that the obvious solution, advocating "don't succumb to peer pressure", is essentially acknowledging a lack of a clear solution to the issue.

[tomatocracy]

I think people do it because they enjoy it, not peer pressure. Making "unhealthy" choices can still be rational - we each get only one life after all, and choosing to have a shorter one with greater enjoyment seems as valid to me as the opposite choice.

[BoxFour]

You have a point, but I’d say it’s considerably more socially acceptable to share 12 pints with friends than to consume the same amount alone. Social norms and acceptability can indeed exert a significant influence on OVERindulgence.

[NoMoreNicksLeft]

Few have ever went bankrupt gambling that people are impressively, unbelievably stupid.

[ItsBob]

> The government need to start teaching about macronutrient breakdowns and calorie intake during early years

Stop looking to the government to solve this problem. There are many many thousands of sources online that one can easily use to get nutrition information.

If you want an example of how NOT to do it, just look at the US Gov food pyramid! Most of that diet is made of carbs.

Edit: I did a search and the first article, albeit from Huff Post, shows the food pyramid - https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/usda-dietary-guidelin...