Providing nutritional information on menus is essential to helping tackle obesity, an expert has claimed.

Tracy Rogers, managing director of Unilever Food Solutions, emphasised that people are keen to know whether dishes will contribute to their healthy eating routine.

"The three key things that people want to know about are the source of the food, how it was prepared and the nutritional value of the food," she continued.

Ms Rogers pointed out that the main reason that consumers want access to this information is because of the potential impact a dish may have on their health.

In large restaurant chains, she suggested this will be easy to achieve as there will be plenty of chefs and nutritionists working together.

Unilever and the National Obesity Forum are calling for a debate on whether or not cafes, restaurants and canteens should be forced to provide information on the dishes they serve.