Comments on: Joules on the menu, please

By: Philip Bladon

Philip Bladon — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 11:09:49 +0000

The British Science Association (BSA); no reason was given.

In the letter dated 17 March, Sir Roland Jackson the Chief Executive of the BSA did go on to express his personal views about this matter.

By: A

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 12:20:35 +0000

Has the BSA given any reason for not having a position on this? Surely it would work in their favour somehow if they supported this proposal. Don’t say that this is another ignorant refusal against progress. Seems to be a British trait which needs to be stopped.

By: Philip Bladon

Philip Bladon — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:16:14 +0000

The British Science Association doesn’t want to take a position on this matter.

In a letter dated 17 March 2010 from the BSA’s Chief Executive, Sir Roland Jackson he states “I have to say this is an area in which the British Science Association does not take a position”.

Way back in 1972 The Royal Society recommended doing away with the Calorie/calorie/kilocalorie; now almost four decades later the British Science Association doesn’t support this.

Considering this position, does the BSA support the speedy completion of metrication in the UK?

By: philh

philh — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 14:54:15 +0000

The apparent refusal by the FSA to replace the calorie with joule may be motivated by the same thinking as the department of health resisting the centilitre in place of the “unit” of alcohol.
Government departments tend to draw upon the techiques of advertising for publicity campaigns. They are more used to manipulating public perception rather than informing it.
The calorie and “unit” are buzz words used to connect with an otherwise apathetic audience who lack curiosity or interest in a proper understanding.
The aims of such campaigns may be laudable but it raises the question as to whether the ends justify the means.
A weak understanding of basic science must underpin a poor understanding of basic nutrition. Like the wider issue of a single system of measurement, it isn’t the only factor but it should at least be recognised as a key enabler.

By: David Brown

David Brown — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:08:45 +0000

People often claim that they want to stick with imperial measures because they “understand” them. But calories are a great example of a unit that people claim to understand, when in fact they do not. Advertisers prey on our lack of understanding to promote “calories” as being bad (hence low-calorie foods from the weight-loss industry), and “energy” as being good (for example energy drinks). How many consumers really appreciate that calories and energy are the same thing? Surely with soaring obesity rates there is a need for a public education campaign. That cannot be undertaken seriously without retiring the woefully outdated energy unit “calorie” and replacing it with the international standard joule.

By: Russell Partridge

Russell Partridge — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:51:47 +0000

An excellent and coherent disposition in favour of using the joule, again indicating the logical interconnectedness of the SI measurement

By: michael worstall

michael worstall — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:27:51 +0000

Great submission . Concur absolutely with the point being made. I have suggested this approach many times to the FSA and never been given the courtesy of a reply let alone actioning this simple idea.

Recommend that the technical footnote be amended to show the correct unit symbols. As ISO 1000 points out unit symbols are always printed in upright font even if the surrounding text is being printed in italic. [Quite right. We have amended it accordingly - Editor]

By: philh

philh — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:23:36 +0000

‘Weight watchers’ have a point system which combines a measure of the amount of saturated fat with energy intake. It actually works out that a point is about 300 kJ (actually its 70 kcal but I round it to 300 kJ) or 4 g of saturated fat. It works by reckoning both e.g. a meal with energy content of 1.2 MJ and 8 g of saturated fat would be about 6 points.

The daily allowance during a fat reducing diet varies with body weight but it’s about 30 at 100 kg. The WW regime is aimed at 10% loss in body mass over 8 weeks.

It’s just a pity they don’t seem to recognise how much easier all this is in SI units!