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Better diet could prevent one in 10 premature deaths, according to latest analysis

CABINET OFFICE News Release (CAB01/08) issued by The Government News Network on 3 January 2008

Early analysis published today by the Strategy Unit (SU) in the Cabinet Office, as part of a project looking long-term at UK food policy, finds that improving our diet could save 70,000 lives a year - one 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 though the majority of us do not need to eat more, we do need to eat better.

The current eating patterns of the average British adult substantially increases their risks of becoming obese and developing heart disease or cancer, the analysis finds. With a third of cardiovascular cases and a quarter of cancer deaths already thought to be diet-related, raising the amount of fruit and vegetables people eat to at least five a day could have the biggest impact in tackling the problem.

In addition, eating more whole grains and oily fish, and consuming less salt, saturated fat and sugar, would all help reduce the impact on our long-term health.

Health Minister Ivan Lewis said:

"Obesity is now one of the great challenges facing both the NHS and our society. While government alone cannot provide all the solutions, it is essential we offer strong leadership commensurate with the importance of the issue. That is why we will be using the analysis we are publishing today to inform the development of a radical long-term strategy to tackle obesity. This strategy to be published later this month will once again underline the centrality of prevention and public health at the heart of a modern NHS."

Typically we do not have the right balance in our diets, the paper suggests - getting too much of our energy from added sugar in products such as sugary drinks and from saturated fats in products such as pies, cakes and crisps. Instead, we should be getting our nutrients and energy from fruit and vegetables, whole grains and starchy foods. While on average we tend to consume fewer calories than 30 years ago, the combination of too little physical activity and exercise also means that energy intake and actual energy use are out of balance for many people. However, much has already been done to tackle the problem as early as possible - almost £100m a year is being invested in improving school food, tough new nutritional standards have been introduced and an entitlement to cooking lessons have been added to the national curriculum. The analysis also shows that large-scale improvement in eating habits could not only save thousands of lives every year but potentially save the economy billions of pounds currently spent on treating the consequences of poor diet.

As well as implications for public health, today's paper looks more broadly at current and emerging trends in the production and consumption of food, and the key drivers of those trends. It covers the environmental impact of the food chain and how those impacts might be tackled, as well as issues around food safety.

The Prime Minister asked the Strategy Unit to take a long-term look at food policy in September 2007, and today's paper is a part of their early analytical work.

The work of the SU is not government policy. The Strategy Unit was set up to provide the Prime Minister and government departments with a capacity to analyse strategic policy issues and help design long-term solutions to problems.

ENDS

Notes to editors

1. A full copy of the analysis can be found at: http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/strategy/work_areas/food_policy.aspx

2. The email address through which to contribute to this project is: foodproject@cabinet-office.x.gsi.gov.uk

3. The full remit of this project is to look at current and emerging trends in the production and consumption of food, and the key drivers of those trends, including in relation to long-term public health policy. The project will continue over the upcoming months and its final conclusions will help inform the Government's long-term policy development.

4. The SU is working closely with the Department of Health, the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Food Standards Agency. The project has already met with stakeholder representatives in the area of food, ranging from farmers representatives to the food industry to health and academic experts. The project will continue to take soundings from stakeholders in the New Year.

5. A set of key observations and statistics highlighted in the report can be found below:

The context

The food industry is a major part of British life and the economy:

- supplying Britain with food and drink sustains 3.7 million jobs in the UK and food and soft drink sales alone are thought to be worth around £121 billion a year;

- food is the UK's largest manufacturing sector and a major source of exports; farming is key to the vitality of many rural communities and sustains the countryside as we know it today; food retail includes some of the UK's best known companies and a diverse food services sector offers an ever wider variety of choice for people eating out. Few people in Britain need to eat more, but many would benefit from eating better because diet is linked to risk of heart disease, cancer, and other conditions:

- it is estimated that there would be almost 70,000 fewer premature deaths each year if the average UK diet matched the target intake for fruit and vegetables, salt, sugar and saturated fat - this number represents more than 10% of current annual deaths;

- the biggest impact would come from raising average fruit and vegetable intake to at least five a day.

As well as the burden on health and well-being, "business-as-usual" entails huge financial costs to society and the taxpayer, for instance:

- diseases linked to poor diet are thought to cost the NHS alone more than £6 billion pounds a year;

- malnutrition in the elderly costs health, care and other services an estimated £7 billion a year.

What could change?

More fruit and vegetables

* There is evidence that diets rich in fruit and vegetables are associated with lower rates of cardiovascular disease and can also help protect against certain cancers such as colorectal (bowel) cancer.

* Most British adults are still not eating enough fruit and vegetables. In the most recent national dietary survey 21% of men and 15% of women ate no fruit at all

* If all adults were to increase the amount of fruit and vegetables to five a day it is estimated that 42,200 deaths premature deaths each year could be avoided.

Less salt

* The typical British man consumes almost twice as much salt as is recommended. On average 75% of salt eaten comes from processed foods. A diet high in salt can increase the risk of stomach cancer and of hypertension (high blood pressure) - a key risk factor in coronary heart disease.

* We can all reduce our chances of life-threatening conditions by cutting back on the amount of salt we eat and finding and choosing foods lower in salt.

* If the average amount of salt consumed fell from 9g a day to 6g it is estimated that 20,000 premature deaths each year would be prevented. Less saturated fat

* The average British adult eats too much saturated fat, around 25% more than the official recommended target. Eating a diet high in saturated fat can increase our risk of developing diabetes, some cancers and cardiovascular disease.

* We live in an environment where on average we consume more energy rich food combined with less exercise and physical activity, increasing the likelihood of becoming overweight or obese

* If the British population cut down its saturated fat intake to the current target level, an estimated 3,500 premature deaths could be avoided each year

Less added sugar

* The average British man gets too much of its energy from added sugars found in sugary drinks and table sugar and not from fruit, vegetables and milk. Men in all social groups are on average consuming over the official recommended target. If energy intakes are not matched to energy expended, this uneven balance has the potential to contribute to weight gain and obesity

* The pattern for children is worse with boys from lower income backgrounds consuming the greatest amount and the largest single source of added sugar in the average child's diet is soft drinks, followed by confectionery and snack foods.

* Reducing how the added sugar component of the energy we consume would save lives, an estimated 3,500 premature deaths if the current target was reached

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