We eat 600 fewer calories a day than 30 years ago... but weigh 30lbs MORE
- - Britons now have less fat, sugar and alcohol in their diets but have more sedentary
- jobs and exercise less
- - They have cut down on fried food and red meat and use semi-skimmed milk at home
- - But eat more calories outside the home because of shop-bought fast food,
- sandwiches and coffees
By EMMA INNES
|
Britons consume less sugar and fat than they did 30 years ago
The nation is getting fatter despite the healthy eating message sinking in, a study has revealed.
Researchers found that an average person eats 600 fewer calories each day than 30 years ago – a 20 per cent drop – but weighs 30lb more.
While snacks, sweets and takeaways have been ditched in favour of healthier options, the main cause of obesity is likely to be a decline in physical activity, it is claimed.
The 20 per cent drop in daily calorie intake is the equivalent of a burger and chips from a fast food restaurant or three pints of Guinness.
But the weight gain cannot be fully explained by lazy Brits adopting a couch potato lifestyle, said the five-year study by the Institute of Fiscal Studies.
Instead, it shows that as Britons get older they find it harder to keep their weight down.
This suggests adults become more susceptible as they get older to the effects of some sugars and fats in modern food, says the report.
The full study is to be published later this summer but details which have emerged show that the average adult Briton has cut down calories intake by around 600 calories a day.
This is almost entirely down to better food and drink habits in the home because the amount of calories consumed outside the home is up by 15 per cent over the same period.
At home, though, Britons today are having cereal for breakfast rather than fried food, using semi-skimmed milk, and eating more fish and less red meat. They are also drinking less alcohol.
The average Briton today may eat less than people did 30 years ago but they exercise less and have a more sedentary job
However, outside the home they are eating and drinking more high calorie food, from burgers to lunchtime sandwiches and coffee shop lattes.
Added to this, an adult today is more likely to have a desk job during the day and more likely to spend time in front of a screen when home in the evening.
The average adult is putting on weight at an average of 0.25kg - just over half a pound - a year, said report author Professor Rachel Griffiths of the IFS.
But it means that a man in his twenties weighs around 7kg - 15lbs - more today than a man in his twenties did three decades ago.
And someone in their 50s weighs a staggering 14kg - 30lbs - more today than someone of the same age 30 years ago.
Professor Griffiths told industry journal The Grocer: ‘The drop in calories consumed would have been expected to have caused a weight loss of 1kg per year over the period.’
She said the link between the rise in obesity and the increased sugar in some foods could be behind the disparity in the figures.
She added: ‘We are looking at why certain age groups and people seem to be far more susceptible to weight gain.’
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