Improved diet could save 70,000 lives a year
January 11, 2008
New preliminary research published by the Government’s Strategy Unit (SU) in the Cabinet Office, as part of a project looking long-term at UK food policy, has concluded that improving diet in the UK could save 70,000 lives a year — 1 in every 10 deaths.
Drawing on existing data, the SU interim paper concludes that the urgent challenges to public health go beyond obesity.
The critical issue is that although the majority of people in the UK do not need to eat more, they need to eat better. The researchers say that the current eating patterns of the average British adult substantially increases the risks of becoming obese and developing heart disease or cancer.
One-third of cardiovascular cases and a quarter of cancer deaths are thought to be diet-related, and the study says that raising the amount of fruit and vegetables people eat to at least five portions per day could have the biggest impact in tackling the problem. The researchers add that the combination of too little physical activity and an unhealthy diet also means that energy intake and actual energy use are out of balance for many people. With 60% of waking hours spent in work, and about 75% of working-age people in the UK in employment, 1 adult meal in 3 is eaten at work.
The research could well encourage healthy canteen meals to move further up the corporate agenda.
Print this page