Sony boss calls for healthy snacks at cinemas to reduce obesity

Popcorn, nachos, hotdogs and ice cream. This menu can only be the recipe one thing – a trip to the cinema, of course. But with an obesity epidemic raging is it time that we traded our traditional movie snacks for something more nutritious? The head of film studio Sony Pictures, Michael Lynton, certainly believes so.

Speaking on Monday at a conference in America, he told theatre owners that in a new survey carried out by Sony, two-thirds of cinema-goers said they would be more likely to buy healthy snacks if they were made available.

He insisted that he was not trying to be a scrooge saying “bah humbug” to the guilty pleasures that we all know and love despite their poor nutritional content. "I don't mean close the window for popcorn, soda and candy,” he reassured the audience. “Audiences love them and should always be able to buy them at your theatres," he added. But he urged theatre owners to recognise how much better it would be for public health if lower-calorie and lower-fat snacks were worked into the big-screen experience.

Returning to Sony’s survey he pointed out that 60% of parents thought that healthy concessions would improve a trip to the cinema, while 42% would buy concessions more often if healthier choices were offered.

Conventional movie treats often contain huge amounts of fatty ingredients; for instance a large portion of sweet popcorn that weighs 375g can contain around 1,800 calories. Alternatives, suggested by Mr Lynton, include granola bars, vegetables with dips, yogurts and unbuttered, air-popped popcorn.

His sentiments echo a recent statement from the Food Standards Agency here in the UK which lambasted the huge portions offered at cinema food kiosks. “People don't have a choice to choose something smaller, a spokesperson for the government agency said. Indeed, the smallest soft drinks available are often as big as a pint and the popcorn on offer tends to come in super-sized buckets.

More choice and healthier food could mean that cinemas become a newfound bastion of better eating. As to whether cinemas will take action, we will have to wait and see. But if Sony’s survey is correct, the demand is certainly there.