Reining in the cost of unwanted calories, sugar and salt

TO WIN a war, access to information is critical.

This can be said, too, of Singapore’s ongoing battle against diabetes, hypertension and other chronic diseases. And winning this war is non-negotiable: a rise in the incidence of these diseases, in an ageing population, would create a burden for Singapore’s healthcare system that amounts to a big strike on the national healthcare finances as well.

Poor dietary habits remain a key cause of these diseases, but this may be partly due to a lack of full information and consumer education. Some consumers may claim to not know the nutritional composition of their favourite food, which probably contains too much sugar, salt or oil. And in day-to-day life, many others perhaps simply aren’t too perturbed about the consequences of making poor food choices.