UK introduces NHS Food Scanner App, offers healthier food choices

By Team Newsable | First Published Jan 11, 2022, 5:35 PM IST

The app employs a "Good Choice" logo to direct users to healthier foods and beverages that adhere to the government's nutritional standards for added sugar, saturated fat, and salt.

As part of the government's multimedia anti-obesity Better Health Campaign, Britain's health service introduced an NHS Food Scanner App on Monday that suggests healthier options.
This function, which is available for free download, allows families to scan product barcodes to find healthier alternatives, allowing them to make a simple change during their next shopping trip. The app employs a "Good Choice" logo to direct users to healthier foods and beverages that adhere to the government's nutritional standards for added sugar, saturated fat, and salt.

Dr Linia Patel, an Indian-origin dietitian who evaluated the new NHS app, says parents struggle to locate healthy snacks for their children, especially if they are picky eaters. 'The NHS Food Scanner App is a fun way to get the kids engaged in picking healthier meals that they'll enjoy - so get scanning, swiping, and swapping,' she said. The goal of the app is to help families improve their children's diets since new figures show that the number of parents feeding unhealthy snacks to their children has grown during the COVID-19 epidemic.

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It comes on the heels of a record surge in childhood obesity since the epidemic, with NHS data revealing that one in every four young schoolchildren in England is now overweight or obese. Maggie Throup, the UK's Public Health Minister, said families had faced a lot of strain throughout the epidemic, significantly shifting habits and routines. She claims that by using the free NHS Food Scanner App, families can switch out goods from their weekly grocery list for healthier options while avoiding products rich in salt, sugar, and saturated fat.

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The app is part of the DHSC's larger anti-obesity plan for the Better Health Campaign, which includes restricting the advertising of less nutritious foods to youngsters and is funded to the tune of GBP 100 million. According to a poll conducted by the UK-based parenting website Netmums, over 58% of parents feed their children more sugary or fatty snacks than before the epidemic, and nearly two-thirds (64%) of parents are concerned about how nutritious their children's snacks are. Almost 90% of parents indicated they would benefit from an app that would assist them in making better choices for their children.

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