In a significant initiative to support public health in the Kingdom of Bahrain, His Highness Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Representative of His Majesty the King for Humanitarian Work and Youth Affairs, has directed that a study be conducted on implementing a unified system for calorie disclosure for food served in restaurants. This move aims to raise health awareness and encourage community members to adopt healthy lifestyles, while also empowering consumers to make better dietary choices.

This initiative is crucial for both economic and health-related reasons. According to 2024 statistics, total government expenditure from the approved budget for the health sector—including health authorities and hospitals—reached approximately 322 million Bahraini Dinars. Government spending rises in tandem with the increasing number of people diagnosed with non-communicable diseases, which has reached approximately 433,000 individuals, distributed as follows: heart disease (234,455 cases), respiratory diseases (229,093 cases), diabetes (approximately 124,146 cases), and cancer (7,129 cases). The number of cases has risen markedly since 2015, with an annual increase of approximately 27,000 cases recorded since 2021, according to Bahrain’s Open Data Portal. However, these diseases can be prevented—or their impact mitigated—by adopting healthy habits, such as exercising and maintaining a nutritious diet, and by avoiding high-calorie foods or those rich in saturated fats, sodium, and sugars, all of which increase the risk of excess weight and obesity. In economics, government bodies use regulations and laws to reduce information asymmetry between producers and consumers. A prime example is the restaurant sector, where consumers often purchase meals without knowing portion sizes, calorie counts, or the content of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, and other additives; this creates an information gap between the producer and the consumer. Reducing this asymmetry through such initiatives offers several advantages. First, it raises consumer health awareness, increasing the likelihood that consumers will choose meals that are lower in calories, healthier, or nutritionally balanced. Second, as consumer demand shifts toward lower-calorie or healthier food options over time, producers (restaurants) are encouraged to adjust their offerings by reducing calorie counts or introducing healthier meal choices. Third, by fostering a positive feedback loop between producers and consumers, this initiative could reduce the incidence of non-communicable diseases over time; this, in turn, would lead to direct cost savings in government healthcare spending—specifically regarding the treatment of non-communicable diseases—as the number of cases declines.

As part of various international initiatives to support public health and promote nutritional awareness, several European Union countries have widely implemented the “Nutri-Score” system in supermarkets and restaurants since October 2017. Similarly, in March 2025, the Abu Dhabi government implemented a comparable system known as “Nutri-Mark.” This system classifies the nutritional value of foods and beverages, displaying it on the product’s front packaging using a color-coded scale—ranging from dark green to red—alongside letter grades from (A) for the healthiest options to (E) for the least healthy. The system operates via an algorithm that weighs beneficial components—such as fiber, protein, and fruit content—against elements that should be limited, such as sugars, saturated fats, and salt, thereby enabling consumers to make informed dietary choices. But why have these countries chosen to implement such systems on a wide scale?

The system was adopted following extensive academic research and strategic planning, as it is one of the most effective methods for guiding consumers toward healthier food choices. It utilizes a simplified color-coded and letter-based label to make complex nutritional data easy to understand, allowing consumers to quickly compare products. Beyond consumer education, the system incentivizes food manufacturers to proactively reformulate their products—reducing sugar, salt, and saturated fat while adding healthy nutrients—to achieve a superior “green” rating. This strategy supports efforts to curb chronic diseases and obesity while enhancing transparency within the food sector.

The initiative launched by His Highness Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa regarding calorie disclosure represents a significant national step toward raising public awareness about the nutritional value of meals consumed in restaurants. By conducting a pilot study involving various segments of society, consideration could be given to implementing a system similar to those used in the European Union and the Emirate of Abu Dhabi; this would raise overall nutritional awareness and drive positive change within the food sector, leading to the provision of higher-quality, safer products for current and future generations.

Note: This article has been automatically translated, the full article is available in Arabic.

Ali Ebrahim Faqih, Senior Analyst