FSS invites families to complete an online survey to understand the eating habits of children and young people in Scotland

Thousands of children and young people across Scotland are to be surveyed on their eating and drinking habits to inform actions to improve health across the nation.

The Dietary Intake in Scotland’s Children (DISH) survey, which is being carried out by the Global Academy of Agriculture and Food Systems at the University of Edinburgh and Taylor McKenzie on behalf of Food Standards Scotland (FSS), will be sent to around 17,000 children and young people between the ages of 2 and 15.

Those randomly selected for the survey will receive a purple envelope in the post inviting them to share information, via an online questionnaire, on what they eat and drink. Parents or carers of younger children will be asked to complete the survey on their behalf.

The information gathered from the survey will be used to support improvement of children’s health in Scotland, by helping to shape policy and advice on diet and to help achieve the Scottish Government’s ambition to halve childhood obesity by 2030. The findings from the survey will be published later in 2024.

Dr Fiona Comrie, Senior Public Health Nutrition Adviser at FSS, said: “This important piece of work will be the first time in over a decade that we have collected information on what children and young people eat and drink in Scotland. In that time there has been a wave of changes to where we eat, and what is on offer.

“What surrounds us, shapes us and in Scotland we are surrounded by less healthy food and drink options. This makes it challenging for families in Scotland to eat well.”

Lending her support for the DISH survey, Professor Linda Bauld, Chief Social Policy Advisor to the Scottish Government, added: “Improving our children’s health by ensuring everyone can get affordable, healthy food has never been more important. When where we live is awash with unhealthy food, and healthy options are out of reach, it makes it harder to eat well; this can lead to poorer health. This survey will help Food Standards Scotland and others identify where the issues are that need to be addressed to improve our children’s health”

Professor Lindsay Jaacks, Project Lead at University of Edinburgh, said: “We want to include lots of different families across the whole of Scotland, so we are encouraging people to look out for a purple envelope and take part in the survey. The online survey will not take too long to complete and will provide us with helpful information to support the Scottish Government’s ambition to halve childhood obesity by 2030.”

More information on the survey can be found here.

For information on making healthier choices for you and your family, visit Eat Well Your Way.