Substantial numbers of Britons do not understand how to follow a balanced diet despite numerous campaigns highlighting which foods are healthy or unhealthy, official research has revealed.
A survey by the Food Standards Agency has uncovered surprisingly high levels of ignorance about how much bread and pasta people should eat, the key role played by fruit and vegetables, and even how much damage products high in fat or sugar can do to their health. FSA officials are disappointed that so many of the 2,094 people questioned across the UK gave a high number of wrong answers when tested last month on their knowledge of what constitutes a healthy diet.
While 58 per cent correctly said that foods high in fat or sugar should be eaten only 'occasionally', 42 per cent did not. One in five insisted that they could eat extra fruit and vegetables to outweigh the effects of consuming products they knew were bad for them - a belief for which there is no scientific basis.
A further 17 per cent said they could limit the damage through exercise - even though burning off calories does not stop saturated fat in unhealthy foods potentially causing heart trouble. Another 17 per cent wrongly maintained that to achieve a balanced diet they could eat an equal amount of all types of food, even though the official recommendation - for only moderate consumption of certain foods - has been heavily publicised for many years.
Jack Winkler, a professor of nutrition policy at London Metropolitan University, said the government should spend less time trying to get people to change their behaviour and more encouraging the food industry to reformulate their products to make them healthier.
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Fish, fruit and fitness: how to maintain a healthy lifestyle
Ensure that starchy foods - bread, rice, pasta, cereals or potatoes - form about a third of your diet. Eat wholegrain varieties.
A glass of juice at breakfast, a side salad at lunch or a pear as a snack all count towards your 'five-a-day' target.
Eat fish at least twice a week, including salmon, mackerel or fresh tuna, to get heart-boosting omega-3 fatty acids.
Reduce your intake of sugar and saturated fat by having fruit instead of biscuits, water instead of fizzy drinks, and more nuts, avocados and oily fish.
Eat no more than 6gms of salt a day.
Be more physically active by walking briskly as often as possible, and don't eat more than you really need.
Drink six to eight glasses of water a day.
Always eat breakfast to kick-start your day. Skipping it won't help you lose weight and will make you more likely to have an unhealthy snack before lunch.
· Source: Food Standards Agency
Joanna Tomlin
