Poor diet accounts for 70,000 premature deaths every year in Britain

Jan 7 2008

According to a new report, in Britain more than 70,000 premature deaths occur each year because of poor diet.

The report which was commissioned by Prime Minister Gordon Brown precedes a government review of the nation's food policy which aims to establish new strategies to curb the rising levels of obesity.

The early deaths are costly in terms of National Health Service treatments and the report states that had the 70,000 cut down on fatty and salty foods and ate more fresh fruits and vegetables, they could have lived for another decade.

The blame for the obesity problem is laid squarely at the feet of British parents and the report says they are feeding their children food with too much saturated fat, sugar and salt and not enough vegetables and fruits.

It seems that young Brits eat on average only 2.5 portions of fruits and vegetables daily, half the recommended allocation, but they consume 50 percent more sugars and 25 percent more saturated fat.

The report says that children's diets are proportionally worse than adults and the future of children's health is of particular concern.

It suggests that a healthy diet nationally could save the UK economy £20 billion each year in lesser health care costs and longer life.

According to the World Health Organization the Brits are not alone in their fight to combat obesity and unhealthy lifestyles as obesity has become a global problem and the number of obese people is expected to rise to 700 million by 2015.

The report makes for grim reading as it predicts 60 per cent of the UK population will be overweight by 2050, compared with 28 per cent today.

Experts say it is not just a case of education as most people know what they are supposed to do, but they just don't want to do it.