How 99% of Britons fail to hit healthy eating targets
August 23rd 2008
Analysis of figures collected by the Office for National Statistics and the Medical Research Centre has found that fewer than 1 in 100 Britons have a healthy diet, preferring instead food high in sugar,salt and fat.Only 8 in 1,000 adults met all 5 targets for levels of saturated fats, total fats, fruit and vegetables, salt and sugar recommended by the World Health Organisation.
Women were slightly better with 1.2% meeting all 5 targets compared to 0.4% of men.The results of the analysis are to be published in the journal Proceedings of the Nutrition Society.Dr Joanne Lunn, of the British Nutrition Foundation, said:“The consequences of a poor diet are chronic diseases in later life.Bad habits are often ingrained in families.They can be changed but it often takes the efforts of the entire family.We need to change some people’s preconceptions, such as that healthy food is more expensive.”
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