Health Nannies Say Nagging Isn't Enough

Ticked off that campaigns intended to nudge people toward healthier choices are ineffective, activists want government to take a more coercive role

It seems so simple. If we eat less salt, sugar and fat and start moving more, the lifestyle diseases that plague us—such as heart disease and diabetes—will begin to disappear.

The message is loud and clear, yet when it comes to the decisions we make every day about what to put in our mouths and shopping trolleys, it seems not to be getting through.

Research released this week found diet and exercise campaigns are so ineffective at preventing heart disease that they should be abandoned in favour of strict government regulation of salt content in foods and wider medication use.