Scottish consumers eat more Chinese and Indian fast food than anywhere else in Britain, consume twice as many fizzy drinks, according to new report commissioned by Food Standards Agency
Nevin Barich
SCOTLAND
,
April 14, 2014
(The Herald)
–
Scots eat more Chinese and Indian takeaways than anywhere else in Britain and consume twice as many fizzy drinks, according to a new report.
Children also eat far more burgers, pizzas and pies than their counterparts south of the Border. People could be eating their way to an early grave, warns the study, commissioned by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), which examined the eating habits of 1800 people.
The Scottish Government's food watchdog called the results disheartening and said the dependence on fatty and sugary snacks was a serious risk to the health of the Scottish population.
Every year Scots eat more than one billion of what are classed as "out-of-home" meals, an average of 92 per person every year. These can be anything from food eaten in restaurants and cafes to supermarkets, sandwich shops and bakeries.
Scots are more likely to eat out than people in Spain, France and Germany, with a particular preference for fast food. The top three favourites were McDonald's, Greggs and Tesco.
Consumers in Scotland were 33% more likely to consume Chinese/ Asian meals compared to the rest of Great Britain and 50% more likely to consume regular fizzy drinks.
The report said there was little evidence that children were able to have a healthy diet, with cola, chips and other fizzy drinks widely consumed.
The proportion of eating-out visits that included fruit and vegetables was much lower in Scotland compared to England and Wales.
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