Portion sizes and promotions can have a big impact when it comes to encouraging healthier eating. How you prepare, serve and sell your food can make a positive difference to the choices consumers make by showcasing a healthy, balanced diet at every stage.
Four lifestyle behaviours (poor diet, lack of exercise, tobacco use, and excess alcohol consumption) are risk factors for four diseases (coronary heart disease, stroke, cancers, and respiratory problems) which together account for 54 per cent of deaths in Plymouth.
The report also highlights particular concerns around levels of childhood obesity, with 24.4% children starting primary school are either overweight or obese, rising to 35.1% when they leave primary school (2021-2022). Meanwhile, the rate of adult obesity is high in Plymouth than on average across England.
As a result of more sedentary lifestyles and increased availability and affordability of high calorie food, the prevalence of obesity among adults has grown considerably over the past few decades. Survey data for Plymouth in 2020/21 shows that 68.8 per cent of adults aged 18+ were classified as overweight or obese; a value higher than the England average (63.5 per cent).
The availability and prevalence of foods high in calories and often high in fat, sugar and salt in ‘out of home’ settings such as cafes, restaurants and takeaways across our local food environment means it can be much harder for communities to maintain healthier lifestyles. Combined with bigger portion sizes than one might ordinarily serve at home, consumers can easily be encouraged to have unhealthier diets and it can be difficult for them to know what the healthier options are and make healthier choices.
Creating healthy, balanced and exciting menus that provide a range of foods and drinks is a key way in which takeaways, restaurants, cafes, and other food providers can make a difference. Your menus and products can encourage the communities you serve to have a healthy balanced diet by:
- Reflecting the guidance contained within the NHS Eatwell Guide
- Offering and positively promoting a wide range of healthy options
- Using healthier cooking methods
- Ensuring your portion sizes are appropriate
- Taking care in how you promote and incentivise different options, especially to children
How caterers can help manage promotions and portion sizes
There are lots of ways that caterers can take action to positively encourage healthier choices, avoid promoting less healthy options and ensure appropriate portion sizes. Here are some ideas to get you started.
Inform yourself about appropriate portion sizes
It’s important to familiarise yourself with what constitutes a healthy portion of different foods and food types, to be sure that you’re not going overboard when it comes to portion sizes. Livewell Southwest list this handy guide to portion sizes on their website, which contains a host of other recommended reading, including Eatwell guides tailored for South Asian, African and Caribbean, vegetarian and vegan cuisines.
In the kitchen
It starts with how you are cooking. Healthier cooking limits or avoids oil and fat, and can also involve reducing ingredients such as salt, sugar and fat. Healthy ways to cook with little to no oil or fat include:
- Steaming, poaching, and boiling, which do not use any added fat
- Grilling, roasting and baking instead of frying
- Dry frying (with no fat at all) and stir frying (with only a small amount)
Where small amounts of oil or fat are used, any excess should be drained off. Also be aware of what you are using to cook – appliances such as microwave ovens, halogen ovens and air fryers can all help to reduce the amount of fat needed for cooking. Worried about dishes being bland? Experiment with herbs and spices to enhance the appearance, texture, and taste of dishes in lieu of oils and fats.
Another key step towards serving healthier meals is to include more vegetable rather than meat-based meals on your menu, reaping nutritional and financial benefits by reducing meat consumption and boosting vegetable and fibre intake.
On your menus
Promote healthier options and ensure that these are highly visible by:
- Having a special menu specifically for healthier menu items or clearly highlighting them in your usual menu using particular colours or logos
- Offering half portions of main menu items, especially for children but also for adults who may prefer a smaller portion for a variety of reasons
- Advertising your healthier menu items on social media as a selling point
- Promoting your healthier menu items through specific discounts and promotions
- Offering free tastings of healthier menu items to encourage customers to buy them
- Making the healthier menu items cheaper (which could involve making less healthy menu items more expensive
- Helping customers to easily see nutritional information and make informed choices e.g. including stickers showing sugar content or amount of calories on ready to eat, packaged items to promote healthier options
Further resources to help you manage promotions and portion sizes
Livewell Southwest healthy eating resources
Public Health England – Healthier catering tips for food businesses
British Dietitians Association – portion sizes guidance
Resource created: November 2023