Healthier products won’t solve Britain’s diet crisis alone

This followed the NHS 10-Year Health Plan earlier this month, which includes a focus on moving from sickness to prevention.

The healthiness of diets is critical to the success of both plans; yet, currently, on nearly every measure, we fail. The latest national survey of people’s diets shows this stark truth. Adults are only getting around three portions of fruit and veg a day. While we should all aim to consume 30g of fibre to support our digestive and cardiovascular health, most Brits are only achieving 16g.

And, whilst most people have at least heard of 5-a-day, new research shows that only 7% of Brits are aware that they should be getting 30g of fibre a day. In fact, on average people think that they should be getting around 12g – less than half of the dietary recommendation.

Food manufacturers know they have an important role to play in making it simpler and more accessible to achieve a healthy diet and have invested hundreds of millions over the past decade to develop healthier products and recipes.

Today, the Food and Drink Federation revealed that its Action on Fibre initiative has helped bring 1.5 billion portions of fibre to the nation’s plates since 2021 – or just over a billion bowls of bran flakes. This has included introducing 400 new products and recipes to supermarket shelves, designed to help people get more fibre.

But more needs to be done to address the gap between dietary recommendations and actual diets. Part of this must be to help people choose healthier food.

The new ‘Good Food Cycle’ presents an opportunity to do just this. Government can support industry’s efforts to raise awareness of the importance of getting the right nutrients, like fibre, into our diets and how we can achieve this. This includes positive and practical public health messaging, amplified by industry, championing the healthy choices people can make to support their wellbeing.

In 2015, the government raised its recommended fibre intake, recognising the crucial role it plays in people’s health. Yet there has been no public health campaign about what 30 grams of fibre looks like, or how to achieve it.

Eating at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day and incorporating a range of pulses and whole-grain options all help. For example, adding a portion of peas to a meal will add 5 grams of fibre, whilst switching to wholemeal bread will add over 1 gram per slice.

Food and drink businesses make this simpler by expanding the range of higher-fibre options on supermarket shelves, from higher-fibre breakfast cereals and snacks to kitchen staples like oats, tinned beans and frozen peas. But there’s a limit to how they can make shoppers aware of the benefits of choosing these foods.

The fibre gap is just one example of why collective action is needed across the whole food system if we’re to achieve the vision of a healthier future. Government, retailers and health charities must work together to raise awareness of the positive changes we can make and the foods we should eat more of to help create a healthier nation.

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Kate Halliwell is the Food and Drink Federation’s Chief Scientific Officer.

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