Forget Calorie Counting. Food Labels With Exercise Quotas May Be More Effective

Eating a hamburger will take more than an hour of running or two hours of walking just to burn off its calories, and a small chocolate bar takes 25 minutes of running. New research from Loughborough University suggests labeling food with the required exercise needed to burn off its calories could help fight obesity.

The lead researcher on the study says "This time of the year is a time where we often eat more calories and we are more sedentary and do less with activity. One of the things I particularly wanted to highlight this type of labeling is that not only does it encourage people to think about what they're consuming. It also prompts people every day to really think about regular physical activity, because it's the two together that are actually going to decrease our risk of disease."

On average the study found people ate 200 fewer calories per day when they knew how much physical activity it would take to burn off. A small glass of wine which could be around about 150 calories, that's 15 minutes of running or 30 minutes of walking. Just for a glass of wine.

Those are just the facts. Researchers also say this type of exercise-labeling on food is slightly more effective than just putting a calorie count on a menu board or on a food product.

The University says "We're not suggesting for one moment that we don't have our recommended number of calories. What we're trying to do is focus on those extra calories that we don't need. Those extra cookies, sugary drinks and so on just to nudge the public in a small way to making a good healthy decision."

Knowing all of this information will people still indulge anyway?

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