Vegetable Pizza‘Slimmers, rejoice – those forbidden sweet treats or extra bags of crisps may no longer be off limits’. Whilst we have learnt to expect sensational headlines from tabloid newspapers, do we expect misleading opening paragraphs like this from papers such as the Times‘ or the Guardian’s version ‘Slimmers struggling to control their junk food cravings may be able to enjoy a few more fatty or sugary treats without guilt’.

Depending on which article you read in the press ‘Calorie count guidance may rise by a cheeseburger’ or ‘two bags of ready salted crisps’. Personally I would see it as 4 bananas, 8 apples, or 16 satsumas, but they seem less headline grabbing.

The headlines are based on a draft report prepared for consideration by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN). Current daily calorie recommendations are based on the ‘Estimated Average Requirement’ (EAR) published in 1991, but following a new method of calculating how much energy we use the SACN report suggests that even for inactive people this has been under estimated. The new findings imply that the current recommended daily intake of 2000 calories for women and 2500 for men could be increased by up to 16% so an extra 320 for women and 400 for men.

Whilst the report does acknowledge that the previous calculated EAR was incorrect, the authors do not suggest that everyone should be told they can eat more. In fact they suggest that education of people regarding calorie intake is necessary.


The report highlights that according to the National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) the amount of food people admit to eating is consistently below the previous daily calorie guidelines. However the NDNS and other surveys of the UK population show the number people classified as overweight or obese is increasing.  This can probably be explained by a combination of excess eating and inactivity.

The SACN report actually states ‘The high prevalence of overweight and obesity in the UK population shows that, for the majority of people, energy intakes are in excess of energy requirements. It is important that the proposed Estimated Average Requirement values are not used to signal or encourage an increase in energy intake of the population as a whole: this would increase the prevalence and magnitude of overweight and obesity in the absence of a corresponding increase in energy expenditure’.

We are already aware that the energy requirements for an individual depend on a number of factors including age, gender, body size and composition, pregnancy, and physical activity. A petite, 70 year old sedentary woman is not going to need as much energy as a tall 35 year old mother constantly running around with her small children.

So unfortunately this research is only acknowledging there is a more accurate method for calculating energy needs and does not mean we are all given a green light to eat more. We probably underestimate just how much we eat already, so we should instead increase our energy expenditure to follow the recommended 30minutes of moderate intensity exercise 5 times a week, and ignore the newspaper headlines.


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