Mininimum price per calorie suggested for food

Just as MSPs were this week throwing out the idea of people paying a minimum price for alcohol, a Scottish doctor was raising a new idea – a minimum price per calorie for food.

The proposal, intended to drive up the cost of fatty and sugary products such as crisps and chocolate, was put to a major conference attended by the country’s leading public health professionals.

In Denmark, the Government has already imposed tax increases of 25% on ice cream, chocolate, and sweets to tackle the rising tide of obesity and heart disease.

Scotland has the second- highest level of obesity in the developed world.

Dr Daniel Chandler, public health doctor for NHS Dumfries and Galloway, presented the case for setting a minimum price per calorie at the Scottish Public Health Conference in Dunblane.

Dr Chandler said: “It is true in general that highly processed items such as ready prepared meals and snacks such as chocolate, sweets and crisps are quite high in terms of calorie content but also affordable. That is a substantial problem in terms of encouraging people to eat less of these kinds of food, because they fill you up and they are easily accessible compared to fresh fruit and vegetables.

“The price [for healthier foods] is more expensive when you look at it on a per-calorie basis.”

He highlighted research from the US that estimated a 20% rise in the price of sweetened drinks would cut calorie intake from beverages by 13% in adults and 11% in children.

If taxation was used to push up the price of goods this could be absorbed by retailers, he noted, adding: “Implementing a minimum price per calorie would ensure that the price of food and drinks would better reflect their nutritional content and calorie density.”