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- Study finds UK has the healthiest packaged food
Study finds UK has the healthiest packaged food
Research that measured sugar, saturated fat, salt and calories in packaged food ranked UK snacks as the most wholesome
2 min read
22 August 2019
The UK, the US and Australia have topped a list of countries ranked by the healthiness of their packaged food.
The George Institute for Global Health analysed more than 400,000 food and drink products from 12 countries for the study published in Obesity Reviews.
Levels of sugar, saturated fat, salt, protein, calcium, fibre and calories were assessed before products were assigned a star rating from 0.5 (least healthy) to five (most healthy).
The UK had the highest average star rating of 2.83, followed by the US with 2.82 stars and Australia in third (2.81).
India had the lowest rating of 2.27 while China had the second lowest rating at 2.43 and Chile was third from the bottom at 2.44.
Lead study author, Dr Elizabeth Dunford, said the results were “concerning.”
“Globally we’re all eating more and more processed foods and that's a concern because our supermarkets shelves are full of products that are high in bad fats, sugar and salt and are potentially making us sick,” she emphasised.
“Our results show that some countries are doing a much better job than others. Unfortunately it's the poorer nations that are least able to address the adverse health consequences that have the unhealthiest foods,” Dr Dunford highlighted.
Image credit: Pixabay/ mohamed_hassan
The George Institute for Global Health analysed more than 400,000 food and drink products from 12 countries for the study published in Obesity Reviews.
Levels of sugar, saturated fat, salt, protein, calcium, fibre and calories were assessed before products were assigned a star rating from 0.5 (least healthy) to five (most healthy).
The UK had the highest average star rating of 2.83, followed by the US with 2.82 stars and Australia in third (2.81).
India had the lowest rating of 2.27 while China had the second lowest rating at 2.43 and Chile was third from the bottom at 2.44.
Lead study author, Dr Elizabeth Dunford, said the results were “concerning.”
“Globally we’re all eating more and more processed foods and that's a concern because our supermarkets shelves are full of products that are high in bad fats, sugar and salt and are potentially making us sick,” she emphasised.
“Our results show that some countries are doing a much better job than others. Unfortunately it's the poorer nations that are least able to address the adverse health consequences that have the unhealthiest foods,” Dr Dunford highlighted.
Image credit: Pixabay/ mohamed_hassan
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