Fast food restaurants are aiding the obesity epidemic by tricking people into eating many more calories than they mean to, according to a new study by the Medical Research Council.

Melanie Johnson, minister for public health, told ePolitix.com: "Helping people maintain a healthy diet and an active lifestyle we can stop them gaining weight in the first place.

"That is why initiatives like the National School Fruit Scheme and the Food in Schools Programme, which are about improving children's diets and their understanding of healthy eating messages, are so crucial in tackling obesity.

"We also want to see much more progress from industry to reduce added levels of salt, fat and sugar in processed foods."

Forum Response: Canderel

A spokeswoman for Canderel told ePolitix.com: "Obesity is a complex problem and dealing with it requires a partnership across government, health practitioners and companies.

"Canderel recently hosted a briefing event for MPs with the National Obesity Forum who are working hard with politicians to push this issue up the agenda. The low-calorie sweetener industry can play its part by offering people an alternative to sugar.

"Switching to low-calorie sweeteners can have a significant impact on peoples' daily sugar consumption and calorie intake.

"At the same time, the sweetener industry must also take its responsibility seriously and communicate clearly with consumers about the range of sweeteners and their ingredients, as many consumers are confused in this regard.

"Canderel's main sweetening ingredient is aspartame, the components of which are found naturally in many of the foods we eat everyday, including meat, dairy products, fruits and vegetables.

"Other brands are also available such as Sweetex which uses saccharin and Splenda which uses sucralose as the main sweetener.

"Sucralose, a newly introduced sweetener in the U.K., is made using a multi-step chemical process that adds chlorine to the final sweetener molecule."

Forum Response: British Retail Consortium

A spokesman for the BRC told ePolitix.com: "It is unquestionable that diet, along with exercise and the management of stress, plays a central role in our health. What is questionable is the prejudices that are now being taken as fact when food is discussed.

"Food alone does not cause obesity; individual behaviour and environment are important influences in causing people to become overweight and obese.

"Obesity is caused by an energy imbalance - more in than out. The encouragement of physical activity through the provision of safe accessible places for children to play or adults to walk, jog, or ride is therefore a key part of tackling obesity

"The attack on burgers is pure food snobbery. Unsurprisingly, other energy dense products include steak, cheese, and bread. Would the food patricians have the same disdain about a rare roast beef sandwich au jus? They can all be part of a healthy diet.

"Health professionals and retailers work from the widely accepted principle that there are no good and bad foods, only good and bad diets.

"Indeed, the government's Balance of Good Health seeks to highlight this fundamental truth. The point that needs to be emphasised is that an undue concentration on particular foods or nutrients may lead to unhelpful consequences, either in terms of message dilution or even dietary imbalance."

Forum Response: Health Development Agency

Professor Mike Kelly, director of research and information at the Health Development Agency, said: "Our individual choices are not the only cause of this tide of obesity.

"We live in an 'obesogenic' environment - a plethora of fast food outlets, reliance on cars, and offers enticing us to eat larger portion sizes all contribute to the problem.

"Obesity is a health inequality issue - studies have shown that it is children from poorer backgrounds that are more likely to suffer weight problems. Also there is a higher prevalence in some ethnic groups and in different regions across the country.

"This shows that a combined approach is needed to tackle obesity."