UK citizens are not meeting their nutritional needs, according to new government data, with fibre a particular blind spot. By Nick Hughes.

The National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) is considered the definitive source of information on what UK citizens are eating in and out of home. Results for the period 2019 to 2023 have just been published by the UK Government’s Office for Health Improvement and Disparities. Here we delve into some of the headline findings.

5-a-day, no way! Fruit and vegetable consumption is falling well short of where it should be. Just 17% of adults ate the government’s recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables each day and only 9% of children aged 11-18 years old. On average, children ate 2.8 portions of fruit and veg while adult consumption varied between 3.3 and 3.7 portions depending on age. The government cautions against making comparisons with previous years’ data due to a change in survey methodology from the use of a paper diary to record dietary intake to a new online tool. Still, the drop off from the 33% of adults and 12% of children who achieved the required 5-a-day between 2016 and 2019 is stark however you slice it. 

Fibre fail. Fruit and vegetables are an excellent source of fibre, an essential component of a healthy diet that helps reduce the risk of heart disease and some cancers. It should come as little surprise then that fibre consumption is also tracking well below government recommendations. Just 4% of adults and 4% of 11-18 year olds met the target to consume at least 30g and 25g per day respectively of fibre, of which wholegrains and legumes are also good sources. Compare this with protein, the hallowed nutrient for food and drink marketers whose consumption is more than sufficient across the board, and the case for businesses to pivot from pushing protein to fibre in their product innovation and menu design is compelling.

Sugar rush. Although the soft drinks industry levy has been successful in reducing sugar consumption from fizzy pop,total sugar consumption remains far too high. The government recommends no more than 5% of energy comes from free sugars, a target achieved by just 9% of children and 19% of adults. Average sugar intakes were almost double recommended levels at 10.5% of energy for children and 10% for adults.

Meat on track. Better news is to be found in the meat category where average consumption of red and processed meat was below the 70g per day recommended level in all age and sex groups. Men aged 19 to 64 years ate the most red and processed meat at an average of 66g per day with around a quarter (27%) eating more than 90g per day. Processed meat is classified as a group 1 (scientifically proven) carcinogen and scientists have recently called for the nitrites used to preserve and colour foods like bacon and ham to be banned due to links with causing cancer.

Not all black and white. You have to dig into the accompanying excel spreadsheet to find data for white meat, which shows a more nuanced picture. Although average consumption in adults aged 19-64 years has dipped slightly in the most recent study period, boys aged 11-18 years are eating more white meat than ever before at an average of 50g per day – a trend that won’t have gone unnoticed by those fast-growing US chicken shop chains.

Meat free, not for me. For the first time participants were also asked to categorise their dietary habits. The results suggest that plant-based eating remains a niche pursuit: fewer than 0.5% of people reported they were vegan, 2% said they were vegetarian, 2% pescatarian and 4% identified as ‘mainly vegetarian or vegan’ but occasionally eating meat.

Money matters. Evidence is well-established on how income impacts a person’s ability to eat healthily (and sustainably). This played out in the NDNS data – participants in higher income households across all age groups were closer to meeting dietary recommendations for fruit and vegetables, fibre and other key nutrients than those with lower incomes.

Hospitality’s impact. Almost three-quarters (72%) of people reported buying food or drink from the out of home sector, in venues like cafés, pubs and takeaways. For those that did, almost a quarter (23%) of their calorie intake came from eating outside of the home – proof again of how impactful the sector could be in changing dietary habits for the better (more on which can be found in next Monday’s Footprint Premium).