Time to diet!

29 Jan 2020


Now that the excessive party season is over, people are focused on re-boosting themselves to face the rest of the year ahead and get their weight back on track. Some individuals are desperate to get rid of the extra weight, undertaking any diet regimes just to look good for the summer time. No wonder, Londoners carry empty wallets and large waists!

Unfortunately the scenario these days is looking quite bleak as Britain is increasingly becoming a nation of “fatties”! Let me expand: according to the NHS, more than half of the British population is currently overweight or obese – the data reflects itself in roughly 65% of men and 58% of women.

Even if more people are trying to engage themselves in physical exercise, their nutritional habits are still lagging behind and quite frankly, substandard due to misinformation and pure ignorance.

As most health professionals already know, diet is very important…to the extent that it actually counts more than the amount of exercise that one performs. However, the fact remains that Brits have the most unbalanced and unhealthy diet in the whole of Europe!

More often than not, the nation’s favourite food choices consist of ready-made meals loaded with sugar, salt, fat and endless E numbers, ultra-processed food like sweet treats, chocolate and sugary drinks.In real terms, these ill informed choices reflect just about half of the meals consumed in the average home.

If that was not bad enough, Brits are completely deluded about the notion of a healthy diet. According to the Research for the Health & Food Supplements Information Service, approximately 60% of Brits are convinced that they do follow an excellent, healthy diet however, only 1 in 4 adults reaches that benchmark!

Shockingly, the official data revealed that only 2 out of 3 British adults are eating their 5 portions of fruit and vegetables each day. 92% of teenagers and 69% of working-age adults do not reach the recommended levels.

Needless to say, overall and on a national scale, there has been a decrease in the intake of vitamin A, vitamin D, iron, riboflavin, folate, calcium, magnesium, iodine, selenium and potassium.

No single body is more frustrated and disappointed with this scenario, than the prestigious British Medical Association, after carrying out campaigns like “Change4Life” and “5 A Day”.

Despite the fact that the free information was disseminated via the right channels using a wide range of platforms in order to educate and encourage healthy eating, the nation’s habits have gone downhill during the last 20 years.

Sadly and inspite of the fact that a great proportion of the UK population has good living standards and is well educated, Brits persist on accessing the wrong type of information (especially on line!) through questionable sources. Eventually, all these elements combined will influence their poor personal choices of nutrition.

According to the British Heart Foundation, consumers should replace unhealthy, low nutritional foods and pursue a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, fish and beans.

On top of all this lies the fact that the national population consumes far too much salt. That alone is one of the biggest health risk factors in Britain. Ultimately, unhealthy diets contribute towards the onset of cancer, heart disease and diabetes.

Currently, UK’s bad diet kills 90,000 Brits per year as the whole nation’s nutritional habits are substandard. It is about time individuals take ownership for their own wellbeing, personal weight management, diet and lifestyle choices instead of expecting the “nanny state” to take over this matter and the public purse to foot the bill.

Bakasurablog

  

Bakasura

I am a multi-skilled ethical blogger with a wide range of general knowledge in completely different fields. I follow current issues and hold a Masters degree in Social Policy and Administration by the University of London, whereby I studied the module of National Public Health. I enjoy critical thinking, research and analyse current socio-economic issues that lead people to see things in a different perspective and in a thought provoking way. My preference is for targeting ethical topics related to lifestyle, well being and health as well as other social trends happening in a cosmopolitan centre like London. Currently I also work at UK's oldest award winning social enterprise.