Convenient ‘on the go’ foods are shaping Scotland’s food environment and dominating out of home eating. The wide availability of foods high in fat, sugar and salt, combined with aggressive online promotions, cheap upsizing, and multi-item meal deals, creates an out of home environment that makes eating well harder, Food Standards Scotland (FSS) warns.
A new study conducted by FSS and the University of Edinburgh, involving more than 1,000 adults living right across Scotland, found that people eat out of home on average seven times a week. Eating out of home is no longer reserved for special occasions but is now part of daily life.
Food eaten outside the home now accounts for around 20% of total daily calories for adults, rising to about 30% among those who eat out most often.
Frequently eating out of home is associated with higher intakes of calories, saturated fat, salt and sugar in the diet, reinforcing concerns from FSS that the food environment that surrounds us today negatively impacts our diets.
The research found that food eaten ‘on the go’ from supermarkets and convenience stores was the most commonly consumed, while cafés and coffee shops were also among the most frequently visited out-of-home outlets.
Most calories from out of home food came from everyday foods such as sandwiches, pizzas, chips, chicken dishes, and cakes. Additional evidence from an FSS supplementary report shows that takeaway meals from fast food outlets often contained the most calories, with nearly half totalling more than 1,200 calories, more than half of an adult’s daily calorie intake.
Laura Wilson, Head of Public Health Nutrition at FSS, said:
“Eating out of home is now a routine part of everyday life in Scotland, not just something we do on special occasions. While it can be convenient and enjoyable, the food on offer often makes it difficult to eat well. When more than a fifth of our daily calories come from out of home, the options that are available, promoted and how they are priced really matter for our health.”
The findings come at a time when nearly one in three adults in Scotland lives with obesity and almost one in five children is at risk, underlining the importance of improving the food environment to make healthier, affordable food in reach of everyone.
Professor Lindsay Jaacks from the University of Edinburgh said:
“Everyday eating out of home is part of Scotland’s food culture, from meal deals at supermarkets to grabbing a coffee and pastry at cafes and bakeries. We need to support Scotland’s food and drink sector to improve the offer of healthier options that are tasty, quick and convenient.”
FSS is calling for a coordinated approach across government and industry to make healthier food easier for everyone, including accessible nutrition information, smaller portion sizes, recipe reformulation and better promotion of healthier options, particularly for children.
A webinar on the 30th of June at 1:00pm will dive into the details of the latest FSS reports.