Pack shot

DH has launched its consultation on food labelling, aimed at a creating single system of front of pack nutritional information display.   Currently, around 80% of food products sold in the UK do provide nutritional labelling, but there are many systems.  DH estimates that if the big 7 supermarkets all hamonised their nutritional labelling, this would affect about half of all the food sold in the UK.  Responses are due in by 5 August.  Join the queue!  A recent study of Australian consumers found rather poor understanding of energy labelling at least.  The May issueof Public Health Nutrition carries a few articles on the subject, , looking at strategies to increase food label use int he US, German consumer responses to traffic light labelling systems and an online test from New Zealand of consumer response to low sodium labelling.

Named and shamed

Several UK supermarkets were on the receiving end of the wrath of the Children's Food Campaign for undermining parents' efforts to encourage their children to eat healthily.  The report, Checkouts Checked Out, was highly critical of how much junk food is displayed at checkouts, both in supermarkets and non-food stores.  One of its recommendations is that removal of this kind of food from checkout areas should be included in the Public Health Responsibility Deal, the latest element of which (a calorie reduction initiative) was announced by DH recently. Public Health features an evaluation of the MEND (Mind, Exercise, Nutirition ... Do it!) healthy living programme as delivered in the West Midlands.  A systematic review of evidence about the association of childhood obesity with primary school built environments finds little to commend in the literature.  Community Practitioner offers an overview of the Food Dudes school-based healthy eating programme. 

Keep up

There's a raft of evaluations and monitoring reports for active travel programmes, including the I Bike project in Scotland, the Living Streets community walking programme and the Travel Actively projects. A study of urban, multi-ethnic school children considers the association of active travel to school with general physical activity levels. Do "use the stairs" notices work, asks a team from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. This study examined the effectiveness of a prompt ("burn calories, not electricity") across a range of different sized buildings and found an immediate increase in stair climbing, which was also maintained after 9 months. An analysis of the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study adds a little more to the sum of knowledge about the dynamic relationship between fitness, overweight and cardiovascular health. Exercise on prescription schemes are examined in a systematic review and meta-analysis and are found to be of uncertain value in increasing physical activity, fitness and other health outcomes. A cost effectiveness study also suggested that exercise referral schemes only delivered a "modest increase in lifetime costs and benefits."