The scientist explains that foods labelled to help those slimming may not actually be good for your weight loss journey
These days, supermarket shelves are plagued with hundreds of products that are labelled as ‘low-calorie’. And while it may seem like buying these products is a healthy choice, Tim Spector has debunked myths surrounding low-calorie foods.
With obesity posing a massive problem to public health in the UK, calorie labelling has become increasingly more common in the products we see in the shops.
According to Food Standards Scotland, evidence indicates that calorie labelling can positively impact public health by effecting consumer behaviours. But Tim Spector believes that focusing on calorie content rather than the quality of the food we’re consuming can do more harm than good.
Speaking on Elizabeth Endres’ podcast The Wellness Process, Spector revealed that there is an unhealthy truth lying beneath the ‘low-calorie’ label.
Elizabeth said: “I read something on Instagram the other day that said it’s way easier to advertise something as 90 calories versus 40 ingredients. And it’s so true.
“Our eye caught that, everybody wanted to be skinny. And so 90 calories, great. Nobody cares that it has 40 processed ingredients in it.”
Tim explained that ultra-processed low-calorie foods are misleadingly labelled, adding: “So they’re designed to make you eat enormous amounts of it. That’s why they’re like baby food. That’s why they’re super soft, that’s why they’re packed with sugar.
“So that as soon as you’re eating it, it instantly disperses in your body, and they try and disguise it with artificial sweeteners and flavourings, and confuse you with what they put on the front of the pack about it being low-fat or low-cal.”
The British Heart Foundation explains that while low-cal foods are seemingly beneficial for calorie control, frequent consumption of low-calorie processed foods can lead to various health issues, including increased risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, and mental health problems, and even early death.
Despite being low in calories, ultra-processed foods may lead to overconsumption, contributing to weight gain and obesity. The BMJ highlights a link between ultra-processed diets and increased calorie intake, weight gain, and elevated risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Tim Spector explained how these low-calorie foods can trick consumers into eating much more than they should, due to the fact that they’re high in sugar and don’t leave you feeling full.
Spector continued: “And if you’re going to eat double as much, it really doesn’t matter. If it doesn’t fill you up, the rest of the day you’ll be eating more and more of this stuff.
“Then really, you know, you need to abandon calories. We’re in New York where they’ve had calories on menus for decades, and it’s made absolutely no difference at all to the waistline of New Yorkers.”
In Scotland, calorie information on menus for non-prepacked food and soft drinks became a legal requirement for large businesses in 2022, following a 2021 parliamentary approval.
And University College London explains that while calorie labelling on menus aims to help people make informed choices and potentially reduce obesity, studies suggest this could have a modest impact on eating habits and a potential for harm to individuals with eating disorders.
Spector concludes: “We want people to talk about quality, not calories.”
