UK Sees Decline in Saturated Fat and Sugar Intake

People in the UK are consuming less saturated fat, trans fat and sugar compared to a decade ago, according to results from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS).

The decline is attributed to an increase in health consciousness among individuals and awareness of health risks triggered by obesity.

The UK adults’ saturated fat consumption declined from 13.3% of food energy in 2000-01 to 12.8% but trans fat consumption witnessed a smaller fall, according to the survey published by the UK Food Standards Agency.

The NDNS said that consumption of added sugar, which is currently 12.5% compared to the recommended 11%, is still too high, while fibre intake is still low.

Iron consumption among girls aged 11 to 18 is still low.

The report, however, said that 33% of adults are eating five portions of fruits and vegetables a day.

Food Standards Agency consumer choice and dietary health director Gill Fine said the results from the first year of its new NDNS rolling programme offer an overview of the nation’s diet and enable tracking of emerging trends over future years.

“We now need to build on the indications of positive change we have observed in this survey,” Fine said.

“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.”