United Kingdom: An insight into the nation’s diet

London / UK. (fsa) The findings of a United Kingdom dietary survey, published by the British Food Standards Agency (FSA), suggest that the nation is eating less saturated fat, trans fat and added sugar than it was ten years ago. The National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) is the first comprehensive survey of people´s eating patterns since 2001, when the survey was last carried out.

Saturated fat intakes in adults have dropped slightly to 12,8 percent of food energy, but are still above the recommended level of eleven percent. Whereas, the population´s trans fat intakes, having also fallen slightly, are well within recommended levels. The survey also found that more than a third of men and women are now meeting the recommendation to eat «5-a-day» fruit and vegetables.

Despite these encouraging indications, people are, according to the NDNS, still eating too much added sugar (currently 12,5 percent of food energy intake compared to the recommended 11,0 percent) and not eating enough fibre, which is essential for healthy digestion.

Gill Fine, Director of Consumer Choice and Dietary Health at the Agency: «Good nutrition is important for health, and poor diet accounts for a large percentage of premature deaths. We now need to build on the indications of positive change we have observed in this survey. By continuing our programme of campaign work and encouraging product reformulation in key areas, such as saturated fat, we will hopefully observe further improvements over the next few years».

The NDNS, commissioned by the FSA, with a contribution to funding from the Department of Health, provides representative data on the dietary habits and nutritional status of the UK population. Carried out by a consortium of organisations, it provides a continuous survey of food consumption, nutrient intakes and nutritional status of people in the UK aged 18 months and older.

A revealing insight into the nation´s diet

Results from the first year of the new National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) suggest that the UK population is eating less saturated fat, less trans fat and less added sugar than it was 10 years ago.

Saturated fat intakes in adults have dropped slightly to 12,8 percent of food energy, compared with 13,3 percent in 2000/2001, and men and children are eating less added sugar.

The population´s trans fat intakes have also fallen slightly and are now at 0,8 percent of food energy, which is well within recommended levels. And, on average, adults are eating 4,4 portions of fruit and vegetables a day with over a third of men and women now meeting the «5-a-day» guideline.

However, despite these encouraging indications, intakes of saturated fat are still above the recommended level of eleven percent of food energy intake, and at 12,5 percent, population intakes of added sugars still exceed the recommended 11 percent.

The research shows that the overall picture of the diet and nutrition of the UK population is broadly similar to previous surveys in the NDNS series carried out between 1992 and 2001, although there are suggestions of positive changes. Importantly though, the findings do not identify any new or emerging nutritional problems in the general population. Other findings include:

• People are still not eating enough fibre, which is essential for healthy digestion. Current average intakes are 14 grams per day for adults, some way below the recommended 18 grams.
• Consumption of oily fish, which is the main source of beneficial omega 3 fatty acids, remains low. Both adults and children are eating well below the recommendation of one portion per week.
• Iron intakes among girls aged 11 to 18 years and women are still low in many cases – which can lead to iron deficiency and anaemia. However, overall, vitamin and mineral intakes among the population are slightly improved.

FSA Director Gill Fine: «The results from the first year of our new NDNS rolling programme provide us with an interesting snapshot of the nation´s diet, and will allow us to track emerging trends over future years. The evidence from this and from further surveys will help us and other government departments formulate policy to address the issues that have been raised. It is good news that the survey suggests around a third of the population is eating five portions of fruit and vegetables each day and it is encouraging to see that these initial findings suggest slightly lower intakes of saturated fat and added sugars than in previous surveys. However, there is obviously a way to go before we are meeting all the Government´s dietary recommendations. Good nutrition is important for health and poor diet accounts for a large percentage of premature deaths. We now need to build on the indications of positive change we have observed in this survey. By continuing our programme of campaign work and encouraging product reformulation in key areas such as saturated fat, we will hopefully observe further improvements over the next few years of the programme».

Info: The full set of findings, and further details about the research methodology, can be found at