Britain urges better overall health with Scan, Swipe, Swap food scanner

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What do you make of this #BetterHealth app, introduced by Britain's National Health Service (NHS)? Does it get across a vital point in a relevant way for today's families? With overall health declining as a result of highly processed foods, and ready-made meals, toxic environments, and fewer full-time homemakers with less time to spend the day planning, shopping, preparing and serving healthy meals, entire nations - such as the USA and the UK - are now scoring high on the obesity and chronic disease scales. The new app, which scans the barcodes of foodstuffs in your cupboards or shopping basket, aims to make it fun and easy for people to improve their food choices by suggesting alternative purchases that will make a difference to their overall nutritional value. Many say it's about time, and this kind of initiative should have been part of the 'Warp Speed' response to the Covid-19 coronavirus, which principally affects the elderly and those with underlying health conditions or who are overweight. Others will be seeing the beginning of the end for the lucrative junk food market and the main manufacturers of highly processed- and often addictive - products. It can be argued that the Covid crisis, whose attendant restrictions have reportedly led to a widespread surge in depression, suicide and overdoses, has served as a wake-up call for better public health, and paves the way for more awareness of our food/lifestyle choices. Some see this kind of campaign as just another bit of unnecessary tech that we can do without, and that tech is adding to the toxic overload and lack of exercise our children and many of us suffer from. "With a speedy scan of your family's favourite foods, you can find healthier swaps for next time you shop," encourages the NHS. What are your thoughts - a step in the right direction and exactly the right way to engage digital natives, or just another shift away from nurturing Nature and the value of 'slow food'?

Keywords: NHS Scan Swipe Swap app, UK government Better Health app, food scanner, healthy eating, family food, M&C Saatchi