Complicated and conflicting nutrition advice is “overwhelming” consumers who are trying to make healthy choices, according to a new survey.
A poll of 5,000 British adults and 200 nutritionists found about two thirds of people (66 per cent) find healthy eating advice confusing and want the government to provide a clear definition of “healthy food”.
While most people understand when something is high in salt or sugar, terminology such as ‘UPF’ (Ultra Processed Food) is confusing consumers – with 88 per cent of people surveyed saying they don’t understand what UPFs are.
The survey found 72 per cent of consumers view processed foods as unhealthy, and half actively avoid them – 45 per cent still seek products with added benefits such as protein or fibre – which require some level of processing.
But experts believe social media is to blame for bombarding consumers with conflicting nutrition advice, for example influencers urging people to eat a meat-only diet, while others say just eating plants is best.
“It’s largely been driven by social media, where nutrition messages are often taken out of context, oversimplified, or deliberately sensationalised,” Registered nutritionist Rob Hobson told the Independent. “In many cases, the loudest voices aren’t coming from a public-health perspective at all but from people with alternative motivation,” he added.
The findings from food and beverage company Danone North Europe, come as the government has published an updated nutrient profiling model (NPM), which is used to calculate which products fall into the “less healthy” category and the associated restrictions on advertising them to children.
The new model introduces a lower threshold for free – or added – sugars, plus those naturally present in syrups, honey, and unsweetened fruit and vegetable juices, smoothies, purees and pastes.
This includes more desserts and foods that parents may mistakenly think are healthier options, such as some sweetened breakfast cereals and fruit-flavoured yoghurts marketed to children.
A crackdown on junk food adverts came into effect this month banning adverts for “less healthy” food and drink that is high in fat, salt and sugar between 5.30am and 9pm, and online at any time – but this was based on guidelines which were more than 20 years old.
However, the survey found 91 per cent of dietitian’s and nutritionists say the public is “overwhelmed” by conflicting nutrition advice. Experts believe the government should do more to make healthy eating simple.
“In addition to clearer public health messaging, there needs to be stronger action on the marketing of ultra processed foods, especially when it comes to claims that lead people to believe a product is healthy, when in truth it is not,” Kim Pearson, a nutritionist specialising in weight loss, told The Independent.
She explained UPFs are foods that often come in a packet, contain more than five ingredients which include additives like thickeners, stabilisers, flavourings or preservatives. But there is no universally agreed definition.
Food scientist Gunter Kuhnle from the University of Reading added UPF “is a term that not even nutritionists and activists seem to be able to agree on” and it can make people feel “guilty about certain foods”. Instead, he urged people to go back to basics.
“I think the very old-fashioned and boring ‘balanced diet’ advice is probably a good start. Adding fruits and vegetables and making snacks an actual treat and not a regular occurrence is also a sensible idea,” he told the Independent.
Mr Hobson argued there are already clear, evidence-based dietary guidelines in the UK, but the advice is not followed.
For example, only three portions of fruit and veg are eaten per day on average, not five and just 5 per cent of men and 2 per cent of women meet the 30g of fibre daily target.
“The issue isn’t a lack of guidance, it’s that people are being distracted by advice that feels more exciting, more extreme, or more headline-grabbing,” he said.
The Department of Health and Social Care has been contacted for a comment.
