Sunderland dad Tom Capeling, whose daughter has had an eating disorder, has spoken movingly about the "all-encompassing" impact it has on someone's life - and how seeing calorie numbers can be incredibly damaging.
Tom, 59, cares for his daughter and is part of a North East support group for eating disorder survivors and their families. He is urging restaurants and cafes to think carefully about how they present their menus - and how to provide alternatives which don't highlight calorie counts - so as to protect vulnerable customers.
He told ChronicleLive: "What is really important to understand is this. Some people might thing counting calories is a choice. I'm a carer for my daughter and I can tell you: It's never a choice. It's something that takes over. It's all-encompassing.
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"My daughter had just come out of hospital but the first time we walked into a large chain cafe, she saw the numbers. And even though she had been eating almost anything that she wanted, it stopped her in her tracks. It really does take over their lives."
Tom said that he was hoping to convince as many people as possible - especially those who run food establishments - to take into account the people suffering and recovering from the most lethal mental illness there is: an eating disorder.
He said seeing calories on menus in restaurants was "like all of a sudden the trust is gone" for people like his daughter. He added; "Some people can ignore the numbers, but if you're in the grip of a depression and eating disorder, they can be this awful, horrible thing and you just can't."
But for Tom a simple solution is for restaurants and cafes to provide alternative menus - and he said he wanted to see owners work to use technology to help. He added: "One of our big pushes is to make people realise they can have other menus available. And my view of the law is that they're perfectly able to have another menu online, too."
The Government has defended the change - which saw large businesses with over 250 employees who run food services told to show calorie counts on menus. The Government said this is necessary to tackle obesity.
But Tom said that even if the Government aim was to encourage healthy eating, that this was not healthy. He said: "We think they shouldn't be focussing on calories at all. They should be focussing on what's healthy and why." He said this echoed the expert nutritional advice patients like his daughter were used to when they were receiving treatment - and asked why on earth this wasn't the approach followed by the Government.
When the measure was introduced, a Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "Clear food labelling plays an important role in helping people make healthier choices for themselves and their families.
“We are all used to seeing nutritional information on products sold in supermarkets, and displaying calorie information on menus can help us consume fewer calories when eating out or getting a takeaway. The regulations will also allow businesses to provide menus without calorie information at the request of the customer."
They said this was in the context of obesity being one of the UK's biggest public health challenges.
Eating disorder charity Beat offers information and support for anyone who may be struggling with this aspect of their mental health.
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