Most people know that they should eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables daily to stay healthy.
But can potato chips, crisps and strawberry jam count among your five meals a day? Surveys show that nearly 1 in 10 Brits mistakenly think they do.
A new free app developed by experts from Bournemouth University aims to take the confusion out of eating healthy food daily.
Called SMART-5-A-DAY, the software helps people track how much fruit and vegetables they eat and how far they need to go.
The app, called SMART 5-A-DAY, encourages Britons to enter how much fruit and vegetables they eat.
The software then calculates how many of the 5 recommended meals or snacks per day count as a tracker to see how close you are to reaching your daily goal.
Analysis shows that only a third of adults and 12% of teenagers in England eat five NHS-supported fruits and vegetables per day.
Professor Catherine Appleton of Bournemouth, a psychology expert who helped develop the app, said the five daily messages were very successful overall.
But she added that their research suggests that people struggle to do it right in their daily lives.
She said: “Most people know that they should eat five times a day.
“But if you look a little closer, a lot of people don’t know what’s important to their goals, what a portion size is, and a lot of people don’t realize they need to eat five different things. It became clear that
“Our study also showed that people who knew less consumed less fruits and vegetables.”
In a survey before creating the app, the team found that 9% of people thought potato chips and strawberry jam were part of their five meals a day, and 6% thought potato chips were included. I discovered that
Also, when it comes to small fruits like raspberries, people have a hard time understanding the portions, and over 90% of the portion questions for these fruits are wrong.
This is where SMART-5-A-DAY comes into play.
Users enter how much of a particular fruit or vegetable they eat at each meal or snack, and it calculates how it counts toward meeting each of the five daily recommendations.
Professor Appleton said he hopes the app will have a lasting impact on how people incorporate healthy foods into their diets.
“What’s unique about this app is that it not only tracks your daily fruit and vegetable intake, but it also tells people about portion sizes so you know what you need to eat. ‘ she said.
“We believe this will be an effective tool for improving people’s eating habits over the long term, not just in the short term of using the app.”
Government estimates vary, but the overall consensus is that too many Britons are not meeting the NHS recommendations for fresh fruit and vegetables.
The NHS’ five servings a day guidance follows the World Health Organization’s advice that eating 400 grams of fruits and vegetables a day can help reduce the risk of serious health problems such as heart disease, stroke and some cancers. Published in 2003 on advice.
It is recommended that adults in the UK consume 5 servings of 80g each of fruits and vegetables daily.
These include fresh, frozen and dried foods.
However, there are some limitations. For example, potatoes are not counted at all.
Beans and legumes can only be eaten by one person no matter how much you eat. This rule also applies to juices and smoothies.
Fruits and vegetables are not only rich in vitamins and minerals needed for a variety of bodily functions, but they are also an excellent source of fiber, an essential element for digestive health.
Consumed as part of a balanced diet, it is less likely to cause obesity than other fatty foods.
Obesity is a growing health problem in the UK, with estimates suggesting that health problems such as hypertension, type 2 diabetes and some cancers cost £6 billion in health care costs each year. I have.
Many studies suggest that far too few Britons are incorporating enough healthy foods into their diets.
A 2019 analysis of government data by the Health and Food Supplement Information Service found only 31% of adults aged 19-64, 26% of adults aged 65 and over, and a shocking 12% of those aged 11-18 . You have achieved the recommended 5 portions per day.
Other government estimates vary, with a survey of 17,000 people conducted by the Ministry of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport in 2019/20 showing that 55% of people over the age of 16 eat five servings a day. I am reporting.
According to the latest 2018 NHS data available to the Health Service, only 28% of adults and 18% of children were eating the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables.
SMART 5-A-DAY is available on the Google Play Store for Android phones starting today.
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