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More than 100,000 obesity deaths ‘could be prevented with new food warnings’
More than 100,000 obesity deaths could be prevented over 20 years if firms were forced to put nutrition warning labels on the front of food packs, experts have said.
Researchers from the University of Liverpool found that warning labels for foods high in fat, salt or sugar – as implemented in several other countries – could save lives across England and cut the number of overweight people.
In 2016, Chile was the first country to bring in a mandatory nutritional warning label law – with food and drink high in fat, salt or sugar needing to display a black octagonal warning on the front of packs.
Other countries, including Mexico and Canada, have introduced similar changes.
In the UK, while it is mandatory for nutrition information to be displayed on the back of all food packaging, putting any details on the front, such as the traffic light system, is voluntary.
In the new study, published in the Lancet Regional Health – Europe, experts used modelling to see what differences mandatory warning labels could make.
Looking at the 20-year period from 2024 to 2043, mandatory implementation of traffic light labelling was estimated to reduce obesity prevalence by 2.34 percentage points.
It could also prevent or postpone 57,000 obesity-related deaths.
But mandatory implementation of nutrient warning labelling – as seen in other countries – would have a bigger effect, with a 4.44 percentage point reduction in obesity prevalence and 110,000 fewer obesity-relateddeaths.
The authors concluded that nutrient warning labels should now be considered by the Government.
Dr Rebecca Evans, corresponding author of the study, said: “Our findings suggest that mandatory nutrient warning labels could deliver substantial health benefits for the population, reducing both obesity rates and related mortality.
“These results support current government discussions about alternative labelling approaches and provide robust evidence to guide future UK food labelling policy.”
Dr Zoe Colombet, an author on the study, said: “Nutrition labels are a simple yet powerful tool.
“Making them mandatory could help people make healthier food choices and encourage the food industry to rethink what goes on our shelves, helping to prevent thousands of deaths linked to obesity”.
Amanda Daley, professor of behavioural medicine at Loughborough University, said: “We need effective public health interventions to reduce the number of deaths related to people living with obesity and mandatory warning labels on food may be one way to achieve this.
“Importantly, we need the food industry to play their part in helping people to make informed decisions about the food they purchase and consume.
“The requirement for food manufacturers in the United Kingdom to include warning labels may encourage the sector to consider more carefully the contents and portion size of food items that they sell.
“Let’s not forget, the public have the right to be fully informed about the impact of the food they consume on their health.”
Dr Jordan Beaumont, from Sheffield Hallam University, said: “Traffic light labelling is a useful tool for consumers but can be tricky to interpret in context of our wider food choices and dietary intake.
“Given we often have very little time to actually inspect labelling and make truly informed decisions when shopping for food, nutrition warning labels provide simpler and more explicit information that is quick and easy to interpret, which explains the larger impact of such information in this modelling.”
Andrea Martinez-Inchausti, assistant director of food at the British Retail Consortium, which represents retailers, said: “Retailers are fully committed to helping improve the health of their customers and have been consistent in providing advice on healthy living, including providing nutritional information on all their products.
“Supermarkets have also keenly adopted the traffic light system for nutritional information on their own products.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “This government is bringing in a modernised food nutrient scoring system to reduce childhood obesity.
“We are taking strong action to tackle the obesity crisis as part of our 10 Year Health Plan, which will shift the focus from sickness to prevention.
“We are also restricting advertising of junk food on TV and online, limiting volume price promotions on less healthy foods and introducing mandatory reporting on sales of healthy food.”
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Rail modernisation: Railways plans 260 Vande Bharat sleeper rakes; phased rollout with advanced safety, comfort features – The Times of India
The government has planned to manufacture 260 rakes of Vande Bharat Sleeper trainsets as part of efforts to upgrade long-distance rail travel with advanced safety systems and passenger comfort features, according to Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.The programme will be executed in phases covering prototype development, testing, trials and series production. The sleeper variant is being developed through a coordinated manufacturing effort involving BEML, Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai and technology partners.
According to the official statement, the “development of new rolling stocks like Vande Sleeper necessitates a holistic approach, combining technological innovation, strategic planning and manufacturing to ensure a safe, reliable and comfortable travel.”The government said induction of Vande Bharat Sleeper trainsets into passenger services will be carried out in phases based on demand and operational readiness.“The process involves development of prototype, extensive testing and trials followed by series production,” the statement said.The project is part of the broader push to enhance passenger experience while improving operational efficiency and safety standards across the railway network.The new sleeper trainsets are being equipped with multiple advanced safety and passenger-centric features.These include semi-permanent jerk-free couplers and anti-climbers, KAVACH safety systems, and crashworthy coach design complying with EN safety standards. The trainsets will have fire barrier doors, aerosol-based fire detection and suppression systems in electrical cabinets and lavatories, and CCTV coverage across all coaches.The trains will also feature regenerative braking systems for energy efficiency and higher acceleration with a design speed of 180 kmph and operating speed of 160 kmph.Passenger comfort upgrades include centrally controlled automatic plug doors, fully sealed wider gangways, centrally monitored coach systems, and air-conditioning units fitted with indigenously developed UV-C lamp-based disinfection technology to improve hygiene inside coaches.Special provisions have been made for Divyangjan passengers, including dedicated lavatories in driving coaches, along with emergency talk-back units for passenger communication with the train manager or loco pilot during emergencies.
Millions could be entitled to compensation as a result of commission arrangements between lenders and dealers.
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New Delhi: The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has deactivated more than 2.5 crore Aadhaar numbers of deceased persons till date. This is as part of a nationwide clean-up effort to maintain the continued accuracy and integrity of the Aadhaar database, Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Shri Jitin Prasada in Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
Aadhaar is the world’s largest biometric identity system with approximately 134 crores live Aadhaar holders.
In case of the death of a person, it is essential that his/her Aadhaar number is deactivated to prevent potential identity fraud, or unauthorized usage of such Aadhaar number for availing welfare benefits.
The State / UT mentioned in the address of an Aadhaar number holder in the Aadhaar database may vary from the State / UT where death was registered.
Measures to prevent potential identity fraud
Government has said that several measures have been taken to reduce the risk of identity fraud and ensure leak-proof delivery of benefits in the country.
The key measures include:
Biometric Lock/Unlock feature enables an Aadhaar number holder to “Lock” his biometrics, preventing any unauthorized authentication attempts.
Aadhaar Lock/Unlock feature for an Aadhaar number holder.
Deployment of Face Authentication having ‘Liveness Detection feature’ to prevent spoofing and ensure the physical presence of the beneficiary during transactions.
Offline Verification: Promotion of Aadhaar Secure QR Code, Aadhaar paperless offline e-KYC, e-Aadhaar and Aadhaar verifiable credentials for offline identity verification.
No sharing of Core Biometric information of Aadhaar number holders in any manner by UIDAI.
Secure Data Storage: Mandatory use of Aadhaar Data Vaults by all requesting entities to store Aadhaar numbers in an encrypted format.
Database Sanitization: Regular de-duplication and deactivation of Aadhaar numbers belonging to deceased persons.
Updation of demographic details of an Aadhaar number holder is allowed only as per documents listed by UIDAI.
UIDAI has launched a new Aadhaar app which facilitates sharing of verified credentials by Aadhaar number holder with the Offline Verification Seeking Entities (OVSE) in a secure and seamless manner.
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Rail modernisation: Railways plans 260 Vande Bharat sleeper rakes; phased rollout with advanced safety, comfort features – The Times of India
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