One of the most well known pieces of health advice is the "Eat 5 portions of fruit and veg a day" recommendations from the World Health Organisation and UK Government. Although this is to be applauded as a laudable and well intentioned policy - the overall effectiveness of the campaign has to be questioned.
In comparison to some of our major counterparts in the developed world, the UK reccommendations lag behind - for example here is what the rest of the world targets.
- Denmark - 6 portions
- Canada - 5 to 10 portions
- France - 10 portions
- Japan - 13 vegetable and 4 fruit portions
Although the Japanese portions are lower (50g as opposed to 80g in the UK), there is no doubt that the Japanese culture has an ingrained acceptance of fruit and veg as part of a daily diet. Sadly, this does not seem to be the case in the UK - some reports have even indicated that less than one-in-eight of Brits actually adhere to 5-a-day at all - and those that do tend to be either over 45 or affluent. According to the Department of Health, eating five portions of fruit and veg a day can significantly reduce the risk of death from chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke, and cancer.
Therefore, the question that has to be asked is - why is the UK diet so opposed to fresh fruit and veg? - its not as if it is too expensive, difficult to find or hard to incorporate into a simple meal - the answer must surely lie in a deeper malaise within our culture.
What theories do you have for this?
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