Why didn’t we think of this? It’s the junk food that needs to lose weight

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Based on the voluminous response to a post earlier this week, we gather there is strong opposition to the idea of discouraging consumption of junk food by taxing it. Government health officials in the UK are recommending a different approach: shrinking the size of candy bars, juices and sodas.

The Food Standards Agency this week issued a proposal to establish recommended portion sizes for a variety of high-calorie treats. If adopted, a typical Snickers or Mars bar would be reduced from its current 58-gram size to no more than 50 grams by the end of 2012. So-called chocolate blocks (candy bars made of pure chocolate or ‘containing pieces of fruit, nuts, biscuit pieces, cereal, caramel or additional flavorings”) could not exceed 40 grams.

The government agency also suggested that beverage makers reduce the sugar content in sodas, juices and other drinks by at least 4% and make single-serving sizes no bigger than 250 ml. Cans of fizzy drinks are now 330 ml, according to a BBC report.

Saturated fats in cookies, cakes and other goodies would also be reduced under the proposal, but that could be achieved by reformulating recipes instead of shrinking products, the FSA said.

Gill Fine, the agency’s director of consumer choice and dietary health, said the goal is simply to make it easier for the British public to make healthful food choices. “What we are not doing is telling people what to eat!” Fine said in a statement.

Julian Hunt, director of communications at the Food and Drink Federation, complained to the BCC that the proposal sets “arbitrary targets for specific nutrients in certain foods, rather than focusing on the need for everyone to achieve a balanced diet and lifestyle.’

He may have a point, but it could be undercut by the fact that candy behemoth Mars UK recently took the initiative to shrink some popular candy bars from 62.5 grams to 58 grams. At first, the company claimed the move was designed to help trim British waistlines. But a skeptical Daily Mail got Mars to acknowledge that the real motivation was to cut costs.

-- Karen Kaplan