tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/five-a-day-29355/articlesFive a day – The Conversation2023-09-12T16:10:46Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2125722023-09-12T16:10:46Z2023-09-12T16:10:46ZPeople who grow their own fruit and veg waste less food and eat more healthily, says research<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546630/original/file-20230906-27-autk1l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=23%2C7%2C5121%2C3416&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Households that produced their own fruit and veg wasted 95% less than the average UK household.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-girl-pulling-onions-on-allotment-408646870">Air Images/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/series/global-cost-of-living-crisis">rising cost of living</a> is making it harder for people, especially those on lower incomes (<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/ndns-time-trend-and-income-analyses-for-years-1-to-9">who often have poorer diets</a>), to <a href="https://theconversation.com/further-food-price-rises-could-cause-up-to-1-million-additional-deaths-in-2023-199120">afford to eat healthily</a>. Despite this, households in the UK <a href="https://wrap.org.uk/resources/report/uk-household-food-waste-tracking-survey-2022-behaviours-attitudes-and-awareness?check_logged_in=1">continue to waste a shocking amount</a> of food – including around 68kg of fruit and vegetables each year.</p>
<p>Food waste is not only damaging to your pocket, it’s also bad for the environment too. Globally, <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/bb144e/bb144e.pdf">1.3 billion tonnes of food</a> are wasted every year, generating about 8% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. These emissions arise from unused food at all stages of the food supply chain, from production to decomposition.</p>
<p>However, <a href="https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ppp3.10413">our recent study</a> revealed that those who grow their own food in gardens and allotments waste an average of just 3.4kg of fruits and vegetables – 95% less than the UK average. These households adopted various practices to minimise food waste, including preserving or giving away their excess produce.</p>
<p>There has been <a href="https://gardenpals.com/gardening-statistics/">renewed interest</a> in growing fresh produce in gardens, community gardens and allotments in the UK and elsewhere in recent years. But the available supply of allotments is <a href="https://apse.org.uk/index.cfm/apse/members-area/briefings/2022/22-33-state-of-the-market-allotments/">not enough to meet increasing demand</a>.</p>
<p>Allocating more land for household fruit and vegetable production could make a significant contribution to the availability of fresh produce for urban residents.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-020-0045-6">Research</a> has shown that using a mere 10% of the available space in the English city of Sheffield for food cultivation could supply enough fruit and vegetables to meet the needs of 15% of the city’s population. And more people growing their own food could also reduce waste.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Vegetables rotting away in a landfill." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546632/original/file-20230906-16-hx16y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546632/original/file-20230906-16-hx16y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546632/original/file-20230906-16-hx16y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546632/original/file-20230906-16-hx16y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546632/original/file-20230906-16-hx16y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546632/original/file-20230906-16-hx16y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546632/original/file-20230906-16-hx16y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Food waste generates about 8% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/vegetables-thrown-into-landfill-rotting-outdoors-1624164451">Joaquin Corbalan P/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>Food diaries</h2>
<p>Our study involved 197 households in the UK that grow their own food. We asked them to maintain a food diary, where they recorded the amounts of fruits and vegetables they acquired each week. We received complete records from 85 separate households.</p>
<p>They specified whether each item was cultivated in their garden or allotment, bought from shops or markets, sourced from other growers, or foraged in the wild. The households also recorded the quantity of the produce they gave away to family and friends, and the amounts they had to throw out.</p>
<p>Our findings suggest that individuals who grow their own food may be more inclined to avoid food wastage than the average person in the UK. This is possibly because they place a higher value on produce they had grown themselves.</p>
<p>The results align with <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/7/3/2695">earlier research</a> that was conducted in Germany and Italy. This study found that the amount of discarded food was greatest among people who shopped exclusively in large supermarkets. People who purchased items from various small stores tended to waste less food, while those that grew their own food wasted the least.</p>
<p>Our findings also suggest that the households we studied can produce roughly half of all the vegetables, and 20% of the fruit, they consume annually. These households consumed 70% more fruits and vegetables (slightly more than six portions per day) than the national average.</p>
<p>Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables as part of a balanced and nutritious diet is key to maintaining good health. This kind of diet can help prevent diseases such as <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/370/bmj.m2194.full">type 2 diabetes</a>, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5837313/">certain cancers and heart disease</a>.</p>
<p>Yet, in the UK, less than one-third of adults and only about 8% of teenagers <a href="https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/health-survey-for-england/2018">eat their “five-a-day”</a>. This target, which is based on <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/healthy-diet">advice from the World Health Organization</a>, recommends eating at least five 80g portions of fruit and veg every day.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Courgettes in a box offered for free from a home vegetable garden." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546634/original/file-20230906-19-eh0y8c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546634/original/file-20230906-19-eh0y8c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546634/original/file-20230906-19-eh0y8c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546634/original/file-20230906-19-eh0y8c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546634/original/file-20230906-19-eh0y8c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546634/original/file-20230906-19-eh0y8c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546634/original/file-20230906-19-eh0y8c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Grow-your-own households adopted various practices to minimise food waste.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/courgettes-box-offered-free-home-vegetable-2195032887">Alan Goodwin Photo/Shutterstock</a></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Grow your own food security</h2>
<p>Growing your own food can improve access to fresh fruits and vegetables, promote good health and reduce food waste. However, several obstacles hinder involvement in household food production. These obstacles include limited access to the land, skills and time needed to grow your own fruit and veg. </p>
<p>Approximately one in eight UK households <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/environmentalaccounts/articles/oneineightbritishhouseholdshasnogarden/2020-05-14">lacks access to a garden</a>. And, since the 1950s, the availability of allotments throughout the UK has <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0169204619315981">declined by 60%</a>. This decline has been particularly evident in more deprived areas of the country, where people could benefit most from better availability of nutritious foods.</p>
<p>We also found that those who grew their own food dedicated approximately four hours each week to working on their allotment or garden. Unfortunately, not everyone has the luxury of having the time to do so.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, raising awareness about the benefits of home food production, beyond just food security and reducing waste, to include its positive impacts on <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/BFJ-07-2020-0593/full/html">social cohesion</a>, <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/BFJ-07-2020-0593/full/html">overall wellbeing</a> and <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-018-0769-y">biodiversity</a> could encourage more people to participate. Increasing demand for growing space may also encourage local authorities to allocate more land for this purpose.</p>
<p>Whether you grow your own food or not, everyone can adopt mindful practices when purchasing or growing food. Planning ahead and freezing or sharing excess food with others to prevent it from going to waste are good options. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/five-ways-to-cut-down-on-food-waste-and-why-it-matters-171347">Five ways to cut down on food waste – and why it matters</a>
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<p>But some food waste is inevitable. Composting it instead of sending it to landfill will <a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200224-how-cutting-your-food-waste-can-help-the-climate">substantially lower its impact</a> on the planet.</p>
<hr>
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<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><strong><em>Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?</em></strong>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Boglarka Zilla Gulyas received funding from an EPSRC PhD scholarship. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jill Edmondson receives funding from NERC and EPSRC.</span></em></p>Those who grow their own food in gardens and allotments waste less and eat more healthily – but not everyone has the chance to do so.Boglarka Zilla Gulyas, Postdoctoral Research Associate in SCHARR, University of SheffieldJill Edmondson, Research Fellow in Environmental Change, University of SheffieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1739432022-01-18T14:41:51Z2022-01-18T14:41:51ZUrban health, wellbeing and food supplies are all under threat: growing more food in cities could change that<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441296/original/file-20220118-21-m671aj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=18%2C0%2C6211%2C4147&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Only 3% of UK households eat homegrown fruit and vegetables.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://pixabay.com/photos/greenhouse-planting-spring-beds-6226263/">Katya_Ershova/Pixabay</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A supply of fresh fruit and vegetables is crucial to a healthy nation – and to building a <a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-exposed-fragility-in-our-food-system-its-time-to-build-something-more-resilient-139781">food system</a> that <a href="https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/sustainable-food/national-food-strategy-response/fruit-and-vegetables">makes us well</a> instead of sick. </p>
<p>The recent target of a <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-the-national-food-strategy-and-how-could-it-change-the-way-england-eats-164410">30% increase</a> in fruit and vegetable consumption in the UK by 2032, set last year by the independent <a href="https://www.nationalfoodstrategy.org/">National Food Strategy</a> review, means we need to consider how these fruit and veg can be grown sustainably: and how we can encourage people to eat more of them.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-020-0045-6">Urban horticulture</a> is a largely <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVFtjbik26Q">overlooked</a> way of providing fresh, high-quality food to city dwellers by producing fruit and vegetables within cities, that has historically been vital for the UK’s food supply. </p>
<p>During the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-shock-of-the-second-world-war-transformed-the-british-state-recovery-podcast-part-four-141324">second world war</a>, as part of the government’s “<a href="https://www.bl.uk/learning/timeline/item107597.html">Dig for Victory</a>” gardening campaign, 18% of the fruit and vegetables eaten by UK citizens were grown <a href="https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ppp3.20">domestically</a> in allotments and gardens. Yet in 2018, that figure was <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/family-food-201819/family-food-201819">just 3%</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An allotment with various plants" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441292/original/file-20220118-15-a0cl54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441292/original/file-20220118-15-a0cl54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441292/original/file-20220118-15-a0cl54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441292/original/file-20220118-15-a0cl54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441292/original/file-20220118-15-a0cl54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441292/original/file-20220118-15-a0cl54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441292/original/file-20220118-15-a0cl54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Allotments are commonly used to grow fruit and vegetables.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kotomi-jewelry/19666011152">Kotomi_/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
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<p>With <a href="https://tradingeconomics.com/united-kingdom/urban-population-percent-of-total-wb-data.html">84%</a> of the UK population now living in cities and towns, as a nation we’ve become largely detached from the practice or possibility of growing our own food. But there’s more and more evidence to suggest that reviving this practice could be the key to shoring up our <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/10/10/2389/htm">food security</a> against threats like <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-climate-change-and-extreme-weather-may-lead-to-food-shortages-and-escalating-prices-172646">climate change</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-simulated-how-a-modern-dust-bowl-would-impact-global-food-supplies-and-the-result-is-devastating-133662">supply chain breakdowns</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-19-how-the-pandemic-increased-food-poverty-in-the-uk-161620">disease</a>.</p>
<h2>Five a day</h2>
<p>Just over a <a href="http://healthsurvey.hscic.gov.uk/data-visualisation/data-visualisation/explore-the-trends/fruit-vegetables.aspx">quarter</a> of the UK population actually eat “five a day”: the number of portions of fruit and vegetables the <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/why-5-a-day">World Health Organization</a> recommends adults consume. This is linked to income: the <a href="https://foodfoundation.org.uk/sites/default/files/2021-09/Peas-Please-Veg-Facts-2021.pdf">richest 20%</a> of the population eats on average one portion more of vegetables per day compared to the poorest 20%. And the consequences are serious: a diet lacking in fresh fruit and veg can <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5837313/">increase the risk</a> of stroke, heart disease and some cancers.</p>
<p>If we are to address these inequalities, we need to create an equal food environment. Promoting urban horticulture could help achieve this by putting fruit and vegetable production back at the heart and in the hands of local communities.</p>
<p>Commercially grown fruit and vegetable crops in the UK provide just over half of the vegetables and under 20% of the fruit we eat from a very small area of land – equivalent to <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/horticulture-statistics-2017">23m² per person</a>.</p>
<p>Recent research carried out in Sheffield found that there was the equivalent of approximately 97m² per person in the city that could potentially be used for growing fruit and vegetables. That’s enough land to feed <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-020-0045-6">over 120%</a> of the Sheffield population following a five-a-day diet.</p>
<p>Not all of this land should or could be used for growing food. The pandemic has demonstrated the numerous benefits to health and wellbeing of providing people with <a href="https://theconversation.com/parks-and-green-spaces-are-important-for-our-mental-health-but-we-need-to-make-sure-that-everyone-can-benefit-142322">green spaces</a>. But if just 10% of this available land was used for growing fruit and vegetables, when combined with existing allotments in Sheffield, there would be enough growing space to feed 15% of the population five portions of fruit and veg a day. This would be a big increase on the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-020-0045-6">estimated 3%</a> of Sheffield’s population currently fed on five a day from urban allotments.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An array of root vegetables" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441293/original/file-20220118-13-1jfjaoe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441293/original/file-20220118-13-1jfjaoe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441293/original/file-20220118-13-1jfjaoe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441293/original/file-20220118-13-1jfjaoe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441293/original/file-20220118-13-1jfjaoe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441293/original/file-20220118-13-1jfjaoe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441293/original/file-20220118-13-1jfjaoe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Food can be grown with little space or light using techniques like hydroponics.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/loopzilla/3887270369">Loopzilla/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>What’s more, growing food in cities doesn’t have to be confined to green spaces. Technological advancements in soil-free growing, such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-urban-farmers-are-learning-to-grow-food-without-soil-or-natural-light-88720">hydroponics systems</a>, allow people to grow produce on rooftops in cities or in disused buildings without natural light.</p>
<p>Expanding fruit and vegetable production in cities could also reduce pressure on high quality agricultural land typically used to grow crops, freeing up more of it for <a href="https://theconversation.com/rewilding-four-tips-to-let-nature-thrive-157441">rewilding</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk-land-now-stores-7-more-carbon-than-300-years-ago-what-that-means-for-the-environment-158100">carbon storage</a>.</p>
<h2>Community spirit</h2>
<p>Shifting fruit and vegetable production into cities also offers a cultural challenge around how to encourage more urban dwellers to grow their own food: which means understanding the barriers that put people off. </p>
<p>At Sheffield’s <a href="https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/sustainable-food">Institute for Sustainable Food</a>, we’re calling on the government to do more to engage urban communities with growing through funding community and school gardens, allotments and <a href="https://dominiquebernier.medium.com/new-technologies-for-hyperlocal-food-doing-more-and-better-with-less-48bd3df08768">hyperlocal farms</a> focused on very specific areas. This could result in a patchwork of food growing regions across cities that, in time, become an integral part of the UK food system. </p>
<p>If this comes to fruition, we can expect to see health and wellbeing benefits across the board – not just thanks to more nutritious diets, but also because of the dramatic improvements in <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/768979/A_guide_to_community-centred_approaches_for_health_and_wellbeing__full_report_.pdf">wellbeing</a> that belonging to an active community can bring.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/173943/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jill Edmondson receives funding from EPSRC and BBSRC.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Samantha Caton receives funding from UKRI: BBSRC, GCRF. </span></em></p>Helping more city-dwellers to grow their own fruit and veg could improve health, wellbeing and food security for growing populations.Jill Edmondson, Research Fellow in Environmental Change, University of SheffieldSamantha Caton, Senior Lecturer in Public Health, University of SheffieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1687102021-09-29T11:02:22Z2021-09-29T11:02:22ZChildren who eat more fruits and vegetables have better mental health – new study<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/423775/original/file-20210929-16-1fegcfg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=45%2C0%2C5068%2C3345&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Primary and secondary school students who ate five servings of fruit or veg daily had better mental wellbeing.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/primary-school-kids-eat-lunch-cafeteria-432895708">Monkey Business Images/ Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Around <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/adolescent-mental-health">10%-20% of adolescents</a> globally suffer from a mental health condition, such as anxiety or depression, according to the World Health Organization. It’s also been shown that half of all mental health conditions <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/adolescent-mental-health">start by age 14</a>. Given how important and formative adolescence is in a person’s life, finding ways of protecting or improving mental wellbeing in children and young people is extremely important.</p>
<p>We already know how valuable good nutrition and diet are for physical health – which is why experts recommend we aim for five servings of fruits and vegetables a day (“<a href="https://www.nhs.uk/change4life/food-facts/five-a-day">five-a-day</a>”). More recently research has also started to suggest that nutrition could influence mental health. While more research is still needed in this area, our <a href="https://nutrition.bmj.com/content/early/2021/08/27/bmjnph-2020-000205">recent study found</a> found that eating a more nutritious diet, rich in fruit and vegetables, and having healthier breakfasts and lunch habits were associated with better mental wellbeing in children. </p>
<p>To conduct our study, we used data from the Norfolk Children and Young People Health and Wellbeing Survey. This collected data on mental wellbeing and different things that impact it – such as socioeconomic status and age – from children at over 50 schools in Norfolk. This allowed us to investigate the importance of fruit and vegetable consumption and meal choices (such as what students ate for breakfast or lunch) with mental wellbeing in this age group. </p>
<p>Our analyses looked at 1,253 <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02667363.2015.1008409">primary school pupils</a> aged 8-11 years and 7,570 <a href="https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/med/research/platform/wemwbs/">secondary school pupils</a> aged 12-18 years. Using different questionnaires for the two groups, we assessed their mental wellbeing by asking them them to score how often they had the feelings described in statements such as “I’ve been feeling good about myself” or “I’ve been feeling loved”. The scores for each statement were added together to give a total score. The higher this total score is, the greater a child’s mental wellbeing.</p>
<p>We also asked students questions on their age, gender, health, living situation and adverse experiences (such as being bullied, or experiencing arguing or violence at home) alongside questions about what kinds of foods they typically ate. This was important so that instead of investigating nutrition and wellbeing on their own, we were able to take into account other factors that can impact a person’s wellbeing score. By doing this, we were able to show that the link between a healthier diet and better mental wellbeing still existed even after taking all these other factors into account.</p>
<h2>Nutritious meals</h2>
<p>In the secondary school group, higher fruit and vegetable consumption was associated with higher mental wellbeing scores – around 8% higher for those who ate five servings daily compared to those who ate none.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Teenage students in black uniforms queue to be served their school lunch." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/423776/original/file-20210929-27-9w4fg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/423776/original/file-20210929-27-9w4fg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423776/original/file-20210929-27-9w4fg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423776/original/file-20210929-27-9w4fg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423776/original/file-20210929-27-9w4fg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423776/original/file-20210929-27-9w4fg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/423776/original/file-20210929-27-9w4fg3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A healthy breakfast and lunch were also important for mental wellbeing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/teenage-students-being-served-meal-school-778344325">Monkey Business Images/ Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>We also found that the wellbeing score varied depending on what type of breakfast or lunch participants ate. Compared to secondary school children who ate a conventional breakfast (such as cereal, toast or a cooked breakfast, like eggs), those who didn’t eat any breakfast had an almost 6% lower mental wellbeing score. Those who consumed only an energy drink for breakfast had an almost 7% lower wellbeing score. </p>
<p>Scores were similarly low for those who didn’t eat lunch compared to those who did. These associations were also similar in primary school children.</p>
<p>Our research also revealed that, on average, in a class of 30 secondary school children, four would have nothing to eat or drink before school, and three had nothing to eat or drink for lunch. We also found that only 25% of secondary school children ate five or more fruits and vegetables a day – and one in ten ate none. </p>
<p>These statistics would be concerning even without the link we have found with mental health, as poor nutrition is likely to impact on <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jhn.12407">school performance</a> as well as <a href="https://apps.who.int/nutrition/topics/growth_and_development/en/index.html">growth and development</a>. While more primary school children ate breakfast and lunch, there was similarly poor fruit and vegetable intake. </p>
<p>To put our findings into perspective, having no breakfast or lunch was associated with a similarly detrimental effect on mental wellbeing as children witnessing regular arguing or violence at home. But as our study was observational, it’s difficult for us to prove the cause of poor mental wellbeing until trials are done to explore these links, fully understand why they exist, and really be certain whether better nutrition will improve mental wellbeing in children. </p>
<p>Our findings show that good quality nutrition needs to be available to all children and young people to improve mental wellbeing and help them reach their full potential. To do this, we could encourage more funding for breakfast clubs, make sure that all children eligible for <a href="https://www.gov.uk/apply-free-school-meals">free school meals</a> use them, and that these meals contain at least two portions of fruits or vegetables. To achieve this, these approaches need to be supported by school policies and public health strategies.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/168710/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ailsa Welch received funding from UEA Health and Social Care Partners ( on behalf of the members of the Childhood Wellbeing group of the UEA Health and Social Care Partners) for Dr Richard Hayhoe to perform the statistical analysis and draft the publication on which this article is based.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard PG Hayhoe does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>One in ten secondary school students didn’t eat a single serving of fruits or vegetables daily.Ailsa Welch, Professor of Nutritional Epidemiology, University of East AngliaRichard PG Hayhoe, Senior Lecturer in Public Health, Anglia Ruskin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1412242020-07-09T12:10:33Z2020-07-09T12:10:33ZType 2 diabetes: eating a diet rich in fruit and vegetables daily lowers risk, study shows<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/346591/original/file-20200709-54-nzy871.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C8%2C5982%2C3979&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The more fruit and vegetables consumed, the lower the risk.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/rainbow-colored-fruits-vegetables-on-white-497140153">Anna Shkuratova/ Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Eating about <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/why-5-a-day/">five servings</a> of fruit and vegetables a day is widely promoted as a key part of a healthy diet. This is because consuming fruit and vegetables is linked to lowering the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-012-0380-y">risk of health problems</a> such as coronary heart disease, stroke and some types of cancer.</p>
<p>But there’s still confusion about the role that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.k2234">fruit and vegetables</a> have in preventing type 2 diabetes. Evidence from research has been inconsistent, partly because most studies have relied on participants remembering what they ate – which can be inaccurate. But <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/370/bmj.m2194.full">our latest research</a> found that people who regularly ate more fruit and vegetables in their diet had half the risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared to those who ate less.</p>
<p>Since research shows that type 2 diabetes can be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(14)60613-9">prevented through a healthy diet</a>, we wanted to know just how important eating fruit and vegetables is as part of that. We conducted the world’s largest study that measured blood levels of vitamins linked to fruit and vegetable consumption in a population. This method of using objective nutritional biomarkers – indicators of dietary intake, metabolism or nutritional status that are present in our blood – cuts out the errors and inaccuracies that affected previous studies. We also asked people to report what specific foods they ate to compare with the biomarker data.</p>
<p>We followed a group of 340,234 people from eight European countries. We specifically studied biomarkers in 10,000 people who developed type 2 diabetes during follow-up and compared them with 13,500 people who didn’t. </p>
<p>The biomarkers we measured were levels of vitamin C and six different carotenoids or plant pigments in the blood. These biomarkers tell us about the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2010.482217">fruit and vegetables</a> a person gets in their diet. We then calculated the total sum of these seven nutrient biomarkers as a composite score, then split scores into five categories ranging from lowest consumption to highest.</p>
<p>We found that the higher the biomarker score level, the lower the risk of future type 2 diabetes. People whose biomarker score was in the top 20% of the population had a 50% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared to those with lower scores. We also found that eating around 66 grams of fruit and vegetables daily could potentially cut risk of type 2 diabetes by a quarter. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/346592/original/file-20200709-58-os4prj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/346592/original/file-20200709-58-os4prj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346592/original/file-20200709-58-os4prj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346592/original/file-20200709-58-os4prj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346592/original/file-20200709-58-os4prj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=543&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346592/original/file-20200709-58-os4prj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=543&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346592/original/file-20200709-58-os4prj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=543&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">One to two portions daily cut risk by a quarter.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/black-family-eating-healthy-food-together-1075975199">Rawpixel.com/ Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Our findings build upon the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/archinte.168.14.1493">results of a smaller study</a> of 21,831 people living in England, 735 of whom developed type 2 diabetes. This study showed a strong link between higher blood vitamin C level and lower risk of diabetes. But the link was weaker when examining fruit and vegetable intake as reported by the participants. By repeating this work on a larger scale and in several countries, our results further strengthen evidence that these results are likely to be repeated in other populations, too.</p>
<h2>Five a day</h2>
<p>Since UK dietary guidelines consider each portion of fruit or vegetable to be <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/why-5-a-day/">80 grams</a>, our study shows eating even one portion per day could have health benefits. For instance, seven cherry tomatoes, two broccoli spears, or one banana would all roughly equal one portion.</p>
<p>Although “five a day” has been around for decades, fruit and vegetable consumption remains low. <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/2995521/7694616/3-14102016-BP-EN.pdf/1234ac94-27fd-4640-b9be-427a42d54881">Only one in seven people</a> over 15 eat at least five portions everyday – and one in three people don’t eat any daily. Encouragingly, our results show there are large potential benefits from making small changes to our diets. </p>
<p>Our research highlights that reduced risk isn’t just because of certain nutrients or vitamins. Rather, the benefits we observed are because of the combination of <a href="https://doi.org/10.3945/an.112.002154">multiple beneficial components</a> found in fruits and vegetables. Alongside vitamin C and carotenoids, other components including fibre, potassium and polyphenols, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-012-0380-y">which have beneficial effects</a> on weight, body inflammation, blood sugar levels, and keep gut bacteria healthy. And a <a href="https://doi.org/10.2337/dc11-2388">diverse variety</a> of fruit and vegetables has the greatest health benefits, as you consume more of these beneficial components.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-varied-diet-can-prevent-diabetes-but-can-you-afford-it-62459">A varied diet can prevent diabetes – but can you afford it?</a>
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<p>We also took into account how several factors – including age, gender, body mass index, education level, occupation, smoking, alcohol intake, physical activity and use of vitamin supplements – all affected the risk of type 2 diabetes. We found that the biomarker results linked to fruit and vegetables were independent of these other factors – so regardless of whether a person smoked or was physically active, eating a diet rich in more fruit and vegetables is relevant for lowering the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.</p>
<p>Our research doesn’t establish cause and effect, because we did not intervene with dietary change – rather we observed what happened over time to participants with different blood biomarker levels. But, by using these objective measures and a large sample size in different countries with varying diets, our confidence in these findings is increased. We still don’t yet know whether our findings would be different among different ethnic groups, which should be a focus of future research.</p>
<p>It’s well known that fruit and vegetables are an important part of maintaining good health throughout life, but we also know that in reality the majority of people do not eat enough of them. Our study shows that even just a small increase in the amount of fruits or vegetables you get in your diet can significantly reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/141224/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nita Forouhi receives funding from Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit Core Grant (MC_UU_12015/5) and National Institute of Health Research Cambridge Biomedical Centre Nutrition, Diet, and Lifestyle Research Theme (IS-BRC-1215-20014). She declares no conflict of interest.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ju-Sheng Zheng was funded by the MRC Epidemiology Unit (MC_UU_12015/5 and MRC Cambridge Initiative RG71466 and SJAH/004) and the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement (701708). He declares no conflict of interest.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nick Wareham receives funding from Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit Core Grant (MC_UU_12015/1) and National Institute of Health Research Cambridge Biomedical Centre Nutrition, Diet, and Lifestyle Research Theme (IS-BRC-1215-20014). He declares no conflict of interest.</span></em></p>Those who ate the most fruit and vegetables daily had a 50% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared to those who ate little or none.Nita Forouhi, Programme Leader, MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of CambridgeJu-Sheng Zheng, Principal Investigator, Human Nutrition and Epidemiology, Westlake UniversityNick Wareham, Director of the MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of CambridgeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1013872018-08-16T20:19:17Z2018-08-16T20:19:17ZTen habits of people who lose weight and keep it off<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/231815/original/file-20180814-2918-190hxzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Before you go for seconds after your meal, have a glass of water and wait five minutes before checking in with your hunger again.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/0803015">Most people who diet</a> will regain 50% of the lost weight in the first year after losing it. Much of the rest will regain it in the following three years.</p>
<p>Most people inherently know that keeping a healthy weight boils down to three things: eating healthy, eating less, and being active. But actually doing that can be tough. </p>
<p>We make <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0013916506295573">more than 200 food decisions a day</a>, and most of these appear to be automatic or habitual, which means we <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22682656">unconsciously eat without reflection</a>, deliberation or any sense of awareness of what or how much food we select and consume. So often <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17678574">habitual behaviours override</a> our best intentions. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41366-018-0067-4">new study</a> has found the key to staying a healthy weight is to reinforce healthy habits. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/thinking-youre-on-a-diet-is-half-the-problem-heres-how-to-be-a-mindful-eater-99207">Thinking you're 'on a diet' is half the problem – here's how to be a mindful eater</a>
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<h2>What the new study found</h2>
<p>Imagine each time a person goes home in the evening, they eat a snack. When they first eat the snack, a mental link is formed between the context (getting home) and their response to that context (eating a snack). Every time they subsequently snack in response to getting home, this link strengthens, to the point that getting home prompts them to eat a snack automatically. This is how a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3505409/">habit forms</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41366-018-0067-4">New research has found</a> weight-loss interventions that are founded on habit-change, (forming new habits or breaking old habits) may be effective at helping people lose weight and keep it off.</p>
<p>We recruited 75 volunteers from the community (aged 18-75) with excess weight or obesity and randomised them into three groups. One program promoted breaking old habits, one promoted forming new habits, and one group was a control (no intervention).</p>
<p>The habit-breaking group was sent a text message with a different task to perform every day. These tasks were focused on breaking usual routines and included things such as “drive a different way to work today”, “listen to a new genre of music” or “write a short story”.</p>
<p>The habit-forming group was asked to follow a program that focused on forming habits centred around healthy lifestyle changes. The group was encouraged to incorporate ten healthy tips into their daily routine, so they became second-nature.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/231817/original/file-20180814-2906-toz1kq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/231817/original/file-20180814-2906-toz1kq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/231817/original/file-20180814-2906-toz1kq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231817/original/file-20180814-2906-toz1kq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231817/original/file-20180814-2906-toz1kq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231817/original/file-20180814-2906-toz1kq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231817/original/file-20180814-2906-toz1kq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/231817/original/file-20180814-2906-toz1kq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">If you start to snack each day when you get home from work, you’ll form a habit that requires you to do so in that context every day.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
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<p>Unlike usual weight-loss programs, these interventions did not prescribe specific diet plans or exercise regimes, they simply aimed to change small daily habits.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-are-fasting-diets-and-do-they-help-you-lose-weight-76644">What are 'fasting' diets and do they help you lose weight?</a>
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<p>After 12 weeks, the habit-forming and habit-breaking participants had lost an average of 3.1kg. More importantly, after 12 months of no intervention and no contact, they had lost another 2.1kg on average. </p>
<p>Some 67% of participants reduced their total body weight by over 5%, decreasing their overall risk for developing type two diabetes and heart disease. As well as losing weight, most participants also increased their fruit and vegetable intake and improved their mental health.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.academia.edu/2987691/A_new_behavioural_intervention_for_tackling_obesity">Habit-based interventions</a> have the potential to change how we think about weight management and, importantly, how we behave.</p>
<h2>Ten healthy habits you should form</h2>
<p>The <a href="http://www.weightconcern.org.uk/node/11">habits</a> in the habit-forming group, developed by Weight Concern (a UK charity) were:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>keep to a meal routine: eat at roughly the same times each day. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/0802530">People who succeed at long term weight loss</a> tend to have a regular meal rhythm (avoidance of snacking and nibbling). A consistent diet regimen across the week and year also <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14647183">predicts subsequent long-term weight loss</a> maintenance</p></li>
<li><p>go for healthy fats: choose to eat healthy fats from nuts, avocado and oily fish instead of fast food. Trans-fats are <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3955571/">linked to an increased risk</a> of heart-disease</p></li>
<li><p>walk off the weight: aim for 10,000 steps a day. Take the stairs and get off one tram stop earlier to ensure you’re getting your heart rate up every day</p></li>
<li><p>pack healthy snacks when you go out: swap crisps and biscuits for fresh fruit</p></li>
<li><p>always look at the labels: check the fat, sugar and salt content on food labels </p></li>
<li><p>caution with your portions: use smaller plates, and drink a glass of water and wait five minutes then check in with your hunger before going back for seconds</p></li>
<li><p>break up sitting time: decreasing sedentary time and increasing activity is <a href="http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_4080994">linked to substantial health benefits</a>. Time spent sedentary is related to excess weight and obesity, independent of physical activity level</p></li>
<li><p>think about your drinks: choose water and limit fruit juice to one small glass per day</p></li>
<li><p>focus on your food: slow down and eat while sitting at the table, not on the go. Internal cues regulating food intake (hunger/fullness signals) may not be as effective while distracted</p></li>
<li><p>always aim for five serves of vegetables a day, whether fresh, frozen or tinned: fruit and vegetables have high nutritional quality and low energy density. Eating the recommended amount produces health benefits, including <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/why-5-a-day/">reduction in the risk</a> of cancer and coronary heart disease.</p></li>
</ol>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/health-check-whats-the-best-diet-for-weight-loss-21557">Health Check: what's the best diet for weight loss?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/101387/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gina Cleo does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A new study has found breaking old and forming new habits is key in keeping weight off.Gina Cleo, Research Fellow, Bond UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/756812017-04-11T09:05:25Z2017-04-11T09:05:25ZThe key to eating five fruit and veg a day might just be to make them more tasty<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/164654/original/image-20170410-8869-bfplop.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=3%2C1%2C1020%2C682&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/auntiep/514895482/in/photolist-MuYuj-4Lx2bv-aattL9-4JW9z9-xYFk-96HggV-6m2fZv-57XFSh-m5CPWF-fD2Va-fSQfzY-4NRJin-iSocg-57Tv1r-4LQEG2-MfRMn-4SUJuU-2U8VF1-6UhqKr-aVoKQ-4GRVFt-28NP3w-4rMqz6-3g4NmG-3XqYYJ-4LQEDF-vTca-fD2Sk-2FgEZ1-4Q3cy3-gHuPs-85XUoL-geo1s-SkJ6Xh-SLSwCb-6Zjjom-25H9Y-d1CJg-9UdVfx-73P9P2-2yddzz-9QcKH3-6sEkBc-6rKiBB-7FY3Ep-6pF5q2-6siRk-6iBCMW-abMpv3-fD2NC">Paula Bailey/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Pea tart might be the key to winning hearts and minds in the war against poor nutrition. We are deluged with advice and guidance about what we should eat and in what volumes, but still adults and children alike struggle to introduce enough fruit and vegetables into their diet. </p>
<p>It is well known that a balanced diet is a healthy diet and that plenty of kale, beetroot, kiwis and bananas is good for us. It all goes back to 2003, when the World Health Organisation launched a <a href="http://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/fruit/en/">global campaign</a> to promote fruit and vegetable consumption. They proposed that we should all be eating a minimum of 400g each day.</p>
<p>Right around the world this message gained traction. In the UK, the 400g was translated into more consumer-friendly guidance and became the now well known five-a-day mantra. The <a href="http://www.nhs.uk/livewell/5aday/Pages/5ADAYhome.aspx">UK Department of Health</a> launched a significant media campaign to raise awareness of this healthy eating push. We were told make sure we got our handful of 80g servings, <a href="https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/what-counts-five-day">equivalent</a> to a small banana, a pear or three heaped tablespoons of spinach or peas.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/164656/original/image-20170410-8865-pfnttn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/164656/original/image-20170410-8865-pfnttn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/164656/original/image-20170410-8865-pfnttn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/164656/original/image-20170410-8865-pfnttn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/164656/original/image-20170410-8865-pfnttn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/164656/original/image-20170410-8865-pfnttn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=569&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/164656/original/image-20170410-8865-pfnttn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=569&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/164656/original/image-20170410-8865-pfnttn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=569&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Portion sighs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/darwinbell/90548564/in/photolist-915W9-bsnJLw-7S2Xex-4A7WBC-5HihPR-nLiza-p2NAHm-oMHRB-oK5osu-5EYnsg-5u5kdU-73TbT1-oM76rZ-bK8TxT-BZfeQ-bMz32v-39RnjX-8osSGH-byEn93-4Z4o7Z-91Va3n-4jBQW8-4ccc7V-Spcbu-9D8zGo-839vJe-8iXEgx-oK5gn7-9C1H-9eCRXc-5ZhUAA-ufQHe-ouC4xc-ouBiCG-AgPzcq-ouC5Lz-4gnU6b-8UEChB-2MCFAn-4GGs2k-riKrG2-3oPogy-5LqEcK-3XZUas-hAWcF-7gYwrp-a3uFuk-7w3TLf-oM7awH-8yQvyn">darwin Bell/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Obstacles</h2>
<p>But despite the clear health benefits and the prominent media campaigns, still only one in ten children, and less than a third of adults <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/594360/NDNS_Y1_to_4_UK_report_executive_summary_revised_February_2017.pdf">eat the recommended five-a-day</a>, according to the latest government figures.</p>
<p>Worse still, one <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ije/article/doi/10.1093/ije/dyw319/3039477/Fruit-and-vegetable-intake-and-the-risk-of">recent study</a> questioned whether five is enough. The authors highlighted the benefits of eating far more fruit and vegetables – as many as ten portions a day.</p>
<p>The trouble is, rather than progressing through to five portions a day and on to ten, there is evidence to suggest that diets are actually getting worse in this regard. <a href="https://www.ifs.org.uk/bns/bn143.pdf">Studies have shown</a> that when budgets are tight people are likely to consume food of poorer nutritional quality. This trend is primarily driven by a substitution of fruit and vegetables with cheaper, less healthy, processed foods. Journalists were quick to adopt the catch phrase “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2012/nov/18/breadline-britain-nutritional-recession-austerity">nutrition recession</a>” when budgets were squeezed in 2012, and a similar effect is likely to be happening now as fresh fruit and vegetable prices are rising.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/164657/original/image-20170410-8865-tjxlt7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/164657/original/image-20170410-8865-tjxlt7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/164657/original/image-20170410-8865-tjxlt7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/164657/original/image-20170410-8865-tjxlt7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/164657/original/image-20170410-8865-tjxlt7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/164657/original/image-20170410-8865-tjxlt7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/164657/original/image-20170410-8865-tjxlt7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/164657/original/image-20170410-8865-tjxlt7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Prices on the rise.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ikhs/1813498296/in/photolist-3LfDS1-9hCxgm-2pUCj-7gikz6-66rTTh-7ZhaxB-4EtQeh-5fkWCV-8k2nsh-8jYbv2-wHQt8-7fdmiM-cX8hLq-99DM6f-cX8hmj-5fkWQe-rBQRkx-aFfmzz-4AcJkp-2XDaiE-8ct1Gw-7kyvWH-7H54bn-5eJsbt-3XnYvL-dmNdKH-65N4Hw-dhhvFY-3Xipkc-36cg-6eBVjJ-dnpt8Z-e4tr7y-tND3k6-6WbLa5-8SxEgc-oCSFR-dnpsTB-7JGfxK-6TD2B-bY8APy-3QGcq2-5VjejF-9hKGAE-7a3i8n-dnpwyE-axJL2o-dgUN7g-498a2S-4f1a1e">Ardie/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Dish of the day</h2>
<p>Perhaps the process has been made something of a chore. The idea of a portion being described as heaped tablespoons of spinach makes it sound very much like taking your medicine rather than eating a gastronomic tour de force. Our team at Bournemouth University has been leading an EU-funded project, researching how vegetable consumption can be made more enjoyable. This <a href="https://microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk/veggieat/">VeggiEAT project</a> has been a collaboration with French culinary hospitality school <a href="http://www.institutpaulbocuse.com/">Institut Paul Bocuse</a>, universities from across Europe and <a href="http://www.bonduelle.com/en/">Bonduelle</a> – a global vegetable processing firm. The aim is to understand people’s vegetable preferences and how they might be influenced to eat more.</p>
<p>The good news is that early results indicate that the more someone eats a given vegetable, the more they will say that they like it. A case of familiarity breeding contentment perhaps. </p>
<p>It is no surprise either that sweetness is a key to getting us to enjoy veggies, as is richness in flavour characterised by intensity of taste. On the flip side, any sour or bitter notes in the flavour turn people off. The same <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/06/opinion/evolutions-sweet-tooth.html">evolutionary process</a> that has driven humanity’s sweet tooth and saddled us with obesity issues in a time of plenty also acts to dissuade us from a diet that would make us healthier.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/164659/original/image-20170410-8858-jdxid.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/164659/original/image-20170410-8858-jdxid.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/164659/original/image-20170410-8858-jdxid.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/164659/original/image-20170410-8858-jdxid.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/164659/original/image-20170410-8858-jdxid.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/164659/original/image-20170410-8858-jdxid.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/164659/original/image-20170410-8858-jdxid.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/164659/original/image-20170410-8858-jdxid.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Dr Pepper.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/42371658@N00/6651399211/in/photolist-b8LafK-aEpacK-4fjC72-5awCkG-au2qdq-4LLzaM-4cxdK1-8z5GD2-6W91VN-8ESkKq-6V6cxp-dD77d7-5ofEL2-2jwMKW-dJcaLD-5awCCQ-5awAJb-78zcrY-3wsAmn-57YKpF-8xe7GP-6WCFvP-aj7S4i-4n9rw5-3AYqF-aGAzGc-8Qt7aH-66brw5-7wjBkH-aohRYb-dcU3zW-59EAAZ-8RgWee-8KkJ7s-RCowmc-6F6Myo-cvETCf-5YGQSP-8CXWAh-6SLjQj-3bcUnb-awkkRf-5KbRze-aFiG4z-9o4VuB-5kkYRv-63oi4-4a9r3N-8MAtCb-aeaAtW">Tony/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The taste testing research was conducted across Europe and used to inform the development of new recipes by our collaborators at the Paul Bocuse culinary school. The recipes are designed to offer an easier route to getting your five-a-day and include things like sweetcorn soup, vegetable burger and pea tart which aim to address those key turn-ons and turn-offs, providing the optimal sweetness and strength of flavour to get reluctant vegetable eaters on board. The tart was a particularly popular choice. The idea is that the research can deliver dishes are suitable for school and care home meals, easy to prepare and within a tight budget. </p>
<p>The vegetable burger is getting some extra testing and has been trialled by more than 400 children of 12 and over as well as 400 people aged over 65. The full analysis of this data is underway but initial findings are very positive and offer some encouragement that there are more exciting routes to follow towards our five-a-day (or even ten-a-day). </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XZ_ftXV6Maw?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>Our study showed that where vegetables can be used as a dish ingredient – used imaginatively to create something greater than the sum of its parts – then they are easier to accept. It’s rather like the spoonful of sugar taken with your medicine.</p>
<p>It is important to make this effort, as there is little evidence that simply repeating the message will work. And we cannot ignore how clear the benefits of increased fruit and vegetable consumption appear to be. One <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ije/article/doi/10.1093/ije/dyw319/3039477/Fruit-and-vegetable-intake-and-the-risk-of">study from Imperial College London</a> calculated that eating ten portions of fruit and veg a day could prevent 7.8m premature deaths each year. Happily, even eating small amounts brought significant health gains and reductions in risk for things like cardiovascular disease and cancer. </p>
<p>And aside from the health benefits, we can’t ignore the climate impact of a <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/research/bioeconomy/pdf/food2030.pdf">rising global appetite for meat and animal products</a>. Everyone has a vested interest in getting people to eat more fruit and vegetables, and that means finding new ways to make them much more popular.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/75681/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Heather Hartwell receives funding from EU RISE, VeggiEAT. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jeff Bray does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Whatever we’re told, getting a decent amount of fruit and veg into our diets is a struggle. Time then to focus on designing dishes that hit the sweetspot.Jeff Bray, Principal Academic Consumer Behaviour, Bournemouth UniversityHeather Hartwell, Professor, Bournemouth UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/624592016-07-20T09:21:42Z2016-07-20T09:21:42ZA varied diet can prevent diabetes – but can you afford it?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/130729/original/image-20160715-2141-1da3u9g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&language=en&ref_site=photo&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&use_local_boost=1&autocomplete_id=&search_tracking_id=nYZXZjiwlISq9Z5IJXWhZQ&searchterm=fruit%20and%20vegetables&show_color_wheel=1&orient=&commercial_ok=&media_type=images&search_cat=&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&color=&page=1&inline=445101091">ALNY/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1002085">a study</a> of over 25,000 adults with detailed information about their eating habits, people with a greater diversity of foods in their diet showed a 30% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes over a ten-year period. Unfortunately, the diets with more variety were 18% more expensive than the less-varied ones.</p>
<p>A healthy diet is critical for preventing and managing type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes affects around 415m adults globally; <a href="https://www.idf.org/about-diabetes/facts-figures">a figure that is expected to rise to 643m by 2040</a>, mostly in low- and middle-income countries. So governments should support their citizen’s ability to eat well. </p>
<p>For several decades now, governments have recommended that people eat a varied diet. Global five-a-day campaigns stress the consumption of a variety of fruits and vegetables. The theory goes that consuming a variety of foods ensures that a person receives all the necessary vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals that are needed for the body to function and stay healthy. But, what do we really mean by a varied diet and what is its relationship with diabetes?</p>
<h2>A varied diet is a healthier diet</h2>
<p>Although dietary guidelines have for a long time recommended eating a variety of foods, scientists are not sure exactly what it is about eating a varied diet that might promote health. There has been research on how the variety of foods relate to the nutritional quality of a person’s diet, but little is known about whether the diversity of the diet is related to risk of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes.</p>
<p>For example, there are no studies on whether a diet containing foods from all <a href="http://www.choosemyplate.gov/MyPlate">five food groups</a> reduces a person’s risk of type 2 diabetes. We also don’t know whether the variety of foods within each of the five food groups is important for health.</p>
<p>People’s diets vary in terms of the different food groups. For example, one person’s diet might consist mainly of meat and grains while another person’s might contain dairy, vegetables and fruit. Diets also vary in the variety of foods within each food group. We were interested in analysing whether the recommendation to consume a wide range of different foods within each food group would have an impact on the risk of developing diabetes.</p>
<p>To do this, we used data collected from middle and older-aged British adults who reported their lifestyles, including their eating habits, when they entered the study and were followed for about ten years. We found that people who routinely ate from all five food groups had a 30% lower risk of type 2 diabetes than people who only ate three food groups or fewer. Also, people eating the widest variety of fruits and vegetables and dairy products also greatly reduced their risk of diabetes compared with people who had a less varied diet. These results could not be explained by other potential risk factors, such as body weight, occupation, income and education, as we took these factors into account in our analysis.</p>
<h2>The bill, please</h2>
<p>Research shows that <a href="http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/3/12/e004277.short">healthy eating is expensive</a>. The price gap between more and less healthy foods is growing in the UK and higher food costs may prevent people from eating a healthier diet, particularly those on low incomes. But what about a more varied diet? Is that more expensive, too?</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/130730/original/image-20160715-2147-1y9ngzx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/130730/original/image-20160715-2147-1y9ngzx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130730/original/image-20160715-2147-1y9ngzx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130730/original/image-20160715-2147-1y9ngzx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130730/original/image-20160715-2147-1y9ngzx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130730/original/image-20160715-2147-1y9ngzx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/130730/original/image-20160715-2147-1y9ngzx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Priced out of health.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&language=en&ref_site=photo&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&use_local_boost=1&autocomplete_id=&search_tracking_id=n-wpUPsCOKkcvnQ7DMkkKg&searchterm=obese&show_color_wheel=1&orient=&commercial_ok=&media_type=images&search_cat=&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&color=&page=1&inline=394863769">Suzanne Tucker/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Most epidemiological studies don’t have information about consumer food costs, but our study did because we <a href="http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/102/1/138.full">linked the dietary data to retail food prices</a>. We found that diets containing all five food groups were on average 18% more costly than diets containing three food groups or fewer. And diets with more variety within each of the five food groups were more costly than diets that contained less variety within each food group.</p>
<p>So, while diverse diets may help prevent chronic diseases, health policymakers will need to acknowledge that the adoption of more varied diets, particularly those containing the most variety of vegetables and fruits, may be substantially more costly and may worsen existing socioeconomic inequalities in diet.</p>
<h2>What government can do</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.fns.usda.gov/healthy-incentives-pilot-final-evaluation-report">Financial incentives can improve food choices</a> and some local authorities are experimenting with taxes on unhealthy foods, including <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/06/16/482359140/philadelphia-becomes-1st-major-u-s-city-to-pass-a-tax-on-soda">on sugar-sweetened beverages</a>. These are a good start, but financial approaches are no silver bullet.</p>
<p>Tweaking food prices may just be fiddling around the edges if governments don’t also deal with systemic issues such as <a href="http://www.aimspress.com/article/10.3934/publichealth.2015.4.844/fulltext.html">agricultural policies that are out-of-sync with the dietary priorities</a> most governments advocate. And our <a href="http://www.local.gov.uk/publications/-/journal_content/56/10180/7711925/PUBLICATION">neighbourhood environments</a>, supermarket shelves and <a href="http://www.bmj.com/content/351/bmj.h5863">portion sizes</a> may be promoting overconsumption of primarily processed, energy-dense foods.</p>
<p>The government, the private sector and civil society need to bring policy coherence across the food system, including agriculture, business and health. Easy, affordable access to a varied diet will benefit everyone’s health now and in the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/62459/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Annalijn I. Conklin receives funding from the Canadian Institute for Health Research, the Gates Cambridge Trust, and from the British Heart Foundation, Economic and Social Research Council, Medical Research Council, the National Institute for Health Research, and the Wellcome Trust, under the auspices of the UK Clinical Research Collaboration. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nita Forouhi receives funding from the Medical Research Council (MRC). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Pablo Monsivais does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>If the government wants people to be healthy, they’re going to need to make varied diets more affordable.Annalijn I Conklin, Research Scholar in Global Health & Policy, University of California, Los AngelesNita Forouhi, Programme Leader, Nutritional Epidemiology, University of CambridgePablo Monsivais, Senior University Lecturer, University of CambridgeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.