Physical activity is vital for our overall health
Whilst people may be cutting out on calories to lose weight, new research reveals that over half of Brits aren’t doing enough physical activity.
Less than one in ten state that they keep fit and play sport regularly, found the study by AB Sugar.
What’s more, two thirds of Brits don’t track their daily calorie intake, with a quarter of those admitting it’s because they don’t know how to. A further three in five say they don’t see tracking their daily calories as important.
With a significant lack of awareness of what Brits are putting into their bodies, half of women and almost two thirds of men wrongly guessed or simply stated they didn’t know their recommended daily calorie intake. More than two in five adults also reveal they don’t factor in calories found in liquids such as soft drinks and juices, risking underestimating their daily calorie intake.
Dr Julian Cooper, Head of Food Science at AB Sugar said: “Our research shows that many people do not understand the simple equation of fuel in, fuel out, highlighting one of the key problems at the heart of the UK obesity epidemic. The truth is that if you consume too many calories, eat and drink too much of any type of food or drink, and then do not burn these excess calories off, you will put on weight.
“Unfortunately there is no silver bullet to solving the UK obesity crisis. The overwhelming body of scientific evidence points to a range of factors, including the over-consumption of calories and our increasingly sedentary lifestyles. As our research suggests, there is a lack of understanding about recommended calorie intake and physical activity guidelines. It is therefore crucial we help consumers to make informed decisions about what constitutes a healthy, balanced diet and active lifestyle by providing them with information based on facts and science”.
Crucially, a significant proportion of those questioned rarely or never take into account how much energy in the form of calories they consume in a day versus how much they use up – 22% and 35% respectively, which can potentially lead to over-eating against their recommended daily calorie intake. Significantly, half of UK adults also have no idea what their Body Mass Index (BMI) is, as two in five of those who do know have a BMI that is deemed unhealthy by the NHS.