Six in 10 Brits are eating the same foods every day, a study has found.
A study of 2,000 adults revealed not wanting to stray from what they like, a lack of time to be more adventurous and being a fussy eater means many of us eat identical meals and snacks on a loop.
One in three even went as far as to say they are completely ‘stuck in a rut’ when it comes to their diet.
More than half of those who eat foods on repeat admitted to being so caught up in the routine they just do it out of habit, while 46 per cent like to stick with what they know they like. 22 per cent claimed they don’t have the time to vary their diet while one in five put their lack of variation down to being fussy with food.
As a result, seven in 10 of those polled by Arla Fibre wish they could get more variety in their diet.
Dr Ranj Singh, resident doctor on ITV’s This Morning, said:
It’s clear that our busy lifestyles are causing meal times to become repetitive, but with a few simple swaps, we can add more colour and excitement into our diets whilst also ensuring we get enough of the different food groups we need to stay healthy.
The simple rule that most people already know is always opt for brown over white when it comes to bread, rice and pasta, but there are so many more ways to get more fibre in your diet that people don’t consider.
For instance, always keeping the skin on vegetables and swapping your regular yogurt for new Arla Fibre.
The study also found more than eight in 10 adults don’t know what their current diet provides them with in terms of vitamins and minerals.
Despite 94 per cent agreeing it’s important to get fibre in your diet, just six per cent are aware adults need 30g of fibre every day.
National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) data, however, shows that fibre – so often overlooked as a food group – is lacking in most of our diets, with a ‘fibre gap’ of, on average, 12g per person per day.
The research was commissioned to mark the launch of Arla Fibre, a new range of tasty yogurts containing 4.7g of fibre per 150g serving.
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In addition, one in four don’t think they get enough iron, with 35 per cent admitting they lack vitamins.
And 18 per cent don’t think they get enough magnesium.
Bread, vegetables and cheese were among the foods adults consume on a weekly basis, with potato, pasta and crisps also featuring as products regularly enjoyed.
This struggle to get the right nutrition from food means Brits are looking for other means of getting well-rounded nourishment from what they eat.
Over half the nation will take supplements to up their dose of vitamins and minerals, and 13 per cent have stomached something they don’t like in order to get the nutrients they need.
James Quayle of Arla Foods, said:
On average, the UK population only eats about 18g of fibre a day, so when the UK Government released their 2015 guidelines advising that adults should eat 30g of a fibre, we realised just how much we are lacking from our diets.
It’s no surprise that we’re struggling to get enough fibre, when traditional fibre-rich foods can be so bland and uninspiring.
So here at Arla, we set out to change all that and created a tasty yogurt which equates to 16% of the 30g recommended by the UK Government in each 150g serving. And best of all… you can’t taste the fibre at all.
Guess waking up for breakfast will be a starting point then.
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