Subscribe now

Letter: Calories on menus may actually be of little help

Published 1 January 2025

From Dyane Silvester, Arnside, Cumbria, UK

Your article on calorie counts on menus says the UK guidelines require them to sit within a 20 per cent margin of error, yet the gap between your opening example of a chicken burger and fries (1597 kcal) and their plant-based alternative (1746 kcal) is within this margin. Presumably even those who want to make “healthy” choices might not be picking the lower-calorie option. Maybe the bigger problem is that it is so cheap and easy to buy a meal with 70 per cent of an adult’s daily recommended calorific intake (30 November 2024, p 14).

Issue no. 3524 published 4 January 2025

Sign up to our weekly newsletter

Receive a weekly dose of discovery in your inbox. We'll also keep you up to date with New Scientist events and special offers.

Sign up
Piano Exit Overlay Banner Mobile Piano Exit Overlay Banner Desktop