Research shows that the average daily intake of fruit and veg in Scotland is only 2.9 portions, compared to the recommended five a day. To help tackle Scotland’s poor diet, FFS has developed a new online guide. The ‘Eat Well Your Way guide’ also caterers for those who are shopping on a tight budget or those who are more sustainability-conscious.
Around 88% of Scottish adults say they understand that an unhealthy diet can lead to poor health. According to Dr Gillian Purdon, head of nutrition at FSS, trying to make too many changes at once to our diets and eating habits can be overwhelming.
Dr Purdon unveiled five small steps towards a healthier diet, including:
- Try to include a piece of fruit or veg with every mealtime
- Choose something simple to cook when you know you will be busy
- Lots of recipes can be adapted to the things you already have in the fridge
- It can be tricky at first but try to get into a routine of cooking weekday meals
- If you’re partial to a couple of biscuits with your afternoon cup of tea, buy plain biscuits as a less sugary choice
She said: “It is designed so that people can find inspiration and make changes that suit their circumstances, as we know that making lots of changes at once isn’t always sustainable. This guide offers a realistic way to help people work towards new healthier food goals.
“We have known for a long time that improving dietary health in Scotland represents a huge challenge and the pandemic brought into focus how this can make us susceptible to serious disease.”
While a new FSS report, due to be published in the coming weeks, will shed light on the impact lockdown and the wider pandemic has had on Scotland’s diet, research has found that ‘discretionary’ foods, such as sweets, chocolate, cakes, crisps and sugary drinks made up a quarter of all food and drink brought into homes in 2020.
Dr Julia Allan, senior lecturer in health psychology at the University of Aberdeen, added: “Eating is about much more than nutrition. People make choices about what to eat based on lots of factors - how it tastes, what it costs, how they’re feeling, who they’re with, and so on.
“In many cases, people don’t really ‘choose’ at all – they eat what’s on offer, what’s convenient at the time and what they can afford. Eat Well, Your Way takes this into account and acknowledges that it can be difficult to make healthier choices. The new guide supports people to make small, positive changes to what they eat and drink and offers evidence-based ways to get motivated, take action and build healthier habits."
The new FSS campaign will feature a bold and direct TV advertisement, outdoor media, experiential activity in shopping centres and a highly targeted digital campaign.