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A new food labelling system that is consistent across all superrmarkets will make it easier for shoppers to spot the healthiest foods, the government is to announce.
Labels will include information on guideline daily amounts (GDAs), be colour coded with a traffic light system and use the words "high", "medium" or "low" to inform people about how much fat, saturated fat, salt, sugar and calories are inside.
Food nutrionist Nicole Berberian told Sky News: "The main thing that you notice at the moment is that labels are different for each different supplier.
"They could be on the front, they could be on the side, they could be colour-coded, they could be randomly colour-coded, so its very difficult to know what to look for.
"What we are trying to do is get a uniformed system, so consumers know where to look, what to look for and when they are looking they will know straight away at a glance what it means."
Health minister Anna Soubry said: "By having a consistent system we will all be able to see at a glance what is in our food. This will help us all choose healthier options and control our calorie intake.
"Obesity and poor diet cost the NHS billions of pounds every year. Making small changes to our diet can have a big impact on our health and could stop us getting serious illnesses, such as heart disease, later in life."
Obesity has more than tripled in the last 25 years and more than 60% of adults are now either obese or overweight. about 30% of children are also considered overweight or obese.
Obesity, which is a major risk factor for diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cancer and heart disease, costs the NHS an estimated £5bn each year, and costs the wider economy billions more, according to the Department of Health.
Peter Hollins, chief executive at the British Heart Foundation, said the announcement was "a quantum leap" forward for for public health.
"It's now down to each and every retailer and manufacturer to step up and introduce these consistent front of pack food labels, including traffic light colours, so shoppers can make healthy food choices at a glance," he said.
The new label is expected to be in use by next summer but the design is still to be decided.
