Big Way Of Life

The report of the first year of the National Diet Nutrition Survey (NDNS) rolling programme (February 2008 to March 2009) has been released and the results are mixed. The report focuses on food consumption and nutrient intakes for adults aged 19 to 64 years and for children aged 18 months to 3 years, 4 to 10 years and 11 to 18 years.

The key findings of the report are:

• People are eating less saturated fat, trans fat and added sugar than they were 10 years ago, when the survey was last carried out.
• Saturated fat intakes in adults have dropped slightly to 12.8% of food energy, but are still above the recommended level of 11%. Whereas, the population’s trans fat intakes, having also fallen slightly, are well within recommended levels.
• People are still eating too much added sugar, currently 12.5% of food energy intake compared to the recommended 11%.
• A third of men and women are now eating the recommended ‘5-a-day’ fruit and veg.
• People are still not eating enough fibre, which is essential for healthy digestion. On average intakes are 14g per day for adults, some way below the recommended 18g.
• Consumption of oily fish, which is the main source of omega 3 fatty acids, remains below the recommended one portion per week.
• Iron intakes among teenage girls and women are still low, which can lead to iron deficiency and anaemia. However, overall, vitamin and mineral intakes among the population are slightly improved.

The results are broadly similar to those of previous NDNS surveys carried out between 1991 and 2001, but importantly there are no new significant nutritional problems for the general population. However, there are still areas that need improvement, such as fibre levels and the amount of fish we eat.

Gill Fine, Director of Consumer Choice and Dietary Health at the FSA, said: ‘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’s good news that the survey suggests around a third of the population is eating five portions of fruit and veg each day and it’s 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.’

To view the report in full, click here.