Over the past few weeks there have been some interesting little snippets regarding this government so called 'nanny' approach towards encouraging people to eat more healthily. The Tories stated not so long ago that they will be removing the red/amber/green labelling from food products that indicate how healthy certain products are as they are patronising to the consumer. Yesterdays Guardian covered a report that said that (due to the downturn) many of the supermarket offers are on unhealthy, high sugar, high fat, high salt pre-packaged food.
What intrigues me about this is why this is due to the 'downturn', and why no-one has put forward the notion that actually one of the main reasons convenience foods have gained in popularity over the past 20 years or so is because women, particularly, are increasingly time-poor. Not to mention advertising campaigns aimed at young children specifically, making it very hard for parents to resist the demands for branded products! Many more of us work, whether part-time or full time, shopping is something that is done during the lunch hour or after work and parenting tasks (such as reading with/to, helping with homework or simply playing) are relegated to the evening. Not to mention washing, cleaning, etc etc.
Overconsumption has increasingly been a problem within western societies, which in turn has led to an increase in health problems related to obesity both in adults and children. It is unecessary and if labelling products and banning advertising for unhealthy products is part of the answer so be it. This is not 'nannying' this is a responsible government and spurious arguments about 'consumer choice' etc really don't do it for me.
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