TikTok influencer Adelaide Saywell on why she’s against putting calories on restaurant menus

Restaurants and cafes with over 250 staff will now have to add calories to their menus, but a Manchester woman who is recovering from an eating disorder has spoken of her fears it could negatively impact mental health.

The Government brought in the rule changes in April, saying it was designed to help people make healthier choices while dining out.

However, Manchester TikTok influencer, Adelaide Saywell, says the scheme could cause more harm than good.

Adelaide has had struggles with food from about the age of nine, and was diagnosed with bulimia and anorexia at the age of 26, just before the pandemic.

She said of the new menus: “It’s honestly heartbreaking because so many people are going to be triggered. And so many people are going to feel like they’re not allowed to eat with their friends, when no calorie will hurt you as much as your eating disorder.

“Whether people have eating disorders or not, the calories will dictate what they choose to eat. Even if they’re just a regular person, you’ll see the calories at the side of the menu and people don’t even realise that making choices based on calories.”

Adelaide posts videos about recovery from eating disorders on her TikTok channel, which has over 584,000 followers.

Instead of the new laws around calories on menus, she is calling for there to be more education around eating disorders.

Adelaide said: “A lot of people don’t actually know what anorexia is; they think it’s teenage girls in hospital. And a lot of people have disordered eating.”

And Adelaide recommended this tip for eating out for when there are menus with calories listed: “Have trusted friends and family, and have them read the menu to you. Or have the wait staff read their menu to you, or recommend things. You don’t have to tell them why.”

‘Fixation on calories’

According to Beat, the national eating disorder charity, between April 2021 and March 2022, 10% of Beat’s support sessions were provided to people within North West England. This means that over 12,700 support sessions were delivered to people in North West England in that time.

Beat’s Director of External Affairs, Tom Quinn said: ”We know from the people we support that including calories on menus can contribute to harmful eating disorder thoughts and behaviours worsening, for instance it can increase a fixation on restricting calories for those with anorexia or bulimia, or increase feelings of guilt for those with binge eating disorder.

“There is also very limited evidence that the legislation will lead to changed eating habits among the general population.”

Finding help

Beat has a full guide to support those with eating disorders who are eating out with calorie labelling. This guide includes tips about preparing ahead of the meal, separating what the ‘recovery’ choice is and what the ‘eating disorder’ choice might be and guidance on how to feel as comfortable as possible at the dinner table.

The guide is freely available on their website here.

• If you’re worried about your own or someone else’s health, you can contact Beat on 0808 801 0677.