Should cake be kept out of office? The UK debates

Who doesn’t like cake, especially in the middle of a hectic day in the office? But the head of Britain’s food watchdog says it should be kept out of the workplace. What? Why? To prevent tempting co-workers who want to lose weight. According to The Times, Food Standards Agency chairperson Susan Jebb has likened the staple of office parties to inhaling second-hand smoke. She further lamented that the advertising of junk food is “undermining people’s free will.” Also read: 5 common myths related to sugar that you may have heard of ‘As harmful as passive smoking’ Professor Susan Jebb said while it is a choice to eat desserts, people can help each other by providing “a supportive environment.” According to The Times, she said, “We all like to think we’re rational, intelligent, educated people who make informed choices the whole time and we undervalue the impact of the environment. If nobody brought in cakes into the office, I would not eat cakes in the day but because people do bring cakes in, I eat them.” “I have made a choice, but people were making a choice to go into a smoky pub.” Further calling for a mindset change by turning the workspace into a place that encourages people to cut down on sweet treats, the University of Oxford professor gave an instance of smoking. She admitted that the two issues were not identical but claimed that passive smoking harms others “and exactly the same is true of food,” the report says_._ “With smoking, after a very long time, we have got to a place where we understand that individuals have to make some effort but that we can make their efforts more successful by having a supportive environment. But we still don’t feel like that about food,” she told the newspaper. Additionally, she stressed that limiting the advertising of junk food was “not about the nanny state” but rather would address what she called a “complete market failure” in which desserts are prioritised above vegetables.

“The businesses with the most money have the biggest influence on people’s behaviour. That’s not fair… We’ve ended up with a complete market failure because what you get advertised is chocolate and not cauliflower,” she added.

Notably, the warning comes after the National Health Service (NHS) website revealed that a majority of adults in the UK are obese. People fall prey to obesity and tooth decay due to regular consumption of packed food and drinks high in sugar, it says. Also read: Weight Loss Hack: What is Ozempic, a diabetes drug, that has gone viral on social media? Let them eat cake, says Rishi Sunak According to The National News, Britain prime minister Rishi Sunak opposed the recommendation that people should stop bringing cakes to work for the sake of their co-workers’ health. As per his office, Sunak supports “personal choice” and thinks it is fine that people share treats with their colleagues. He opposed the suggestion that people stop taking cakes into the office for the sake of their colleagues’ health. “The Prime Minister believes that personal choice should be baked into our approach,” the report quoted his official spokesperson as saying. “We want to encourage healthy lifestyles and are taking action to tackle obesity, which has cost the NHS [National Health Service] £6 billion annually. However, the way to deal with this issue is not to stop people from occasionally bringing in treats for their co-workers.” The spokesperson for the UK PM stated that the leader was “quite partial to a piece of cake” and particularly liked carrot and red velvet. Also read: Humanity’s future in danger: Experts say why physical intimacy has become less fruitful ‘Anti-obesity measure won’t come into force’ Even as the UK struggles with obesity, the long-promised ban on pre-watershed TV ads for junk food has still not been implemented by successive governments. Sunak-led administration also declared in December that anti-obesity measures will not come into force until 2025, as per The Guardian. The Department of Health attributed the delay in enforcing bans on apparent TV advertisements for junk food to the high expense of living. Also read: US: Health officials revise tool to track severe obesity in kids Obesity a bigger killer than smoking According to a study published in the BMC Public Health Journal (2021), obesity leass to more deaths in Scotland and England than smoking, reported BBC. The findings revealed that between 2003 and 2017 deaths from smoking decreased from 23.1 per cent to 19.4 per cent. However, in the same period, deaths due to obesity increased from 17.9 per cent to 23.1 per cent with the overtake occurring in 2014. The study analysed that obesity and being overweight could lead to an increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, breast or bowel cancer, and even strokes. According to the Health Survey for England 2021, over 26 per cent of adults in England are obese, while 38 per cent were overweight. The government report said that the obesity levels in the country have reportedly increased from 15 per cent in 1993 to 28 per cent in 2019. As per The Washington Post, a World Obesity Federation (WOF) 2021 report also revealed that the vast majority of global COVID-19 deaths occurred in nations with high levels of obesity. The WHO report released in the same year also revealed that obesity globally had almost tripled since the year 1975. With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.