Most people know that they need to eat five servings of fruit and vegetables every day to stay healthy.
But do crisps, chips and strawberry jam count as part of your five a day? Research shows that nearly one in ten Britons mistakenly think so.
A new free app developed by experts at Bournemouth University aims to take the confusion out of getting your daily dose of healthy foods.
The software, called SMART-5-A-DAY, helps track the amount of fruit and vegetables people eat and how far they are from getting the amount they need.
The app, called SMART 5-A-DAY, asks Brits to enter the amount of fruit and vegetables they eat
The software then calculates how many of the recommended five meals a day count as trackers to see how close a user is to their daily goal
Analysis suggests that just a third of adults and just 12 per cent of teenagers in England eat the five NHS-backed fruits and vegetables a day.
Professor Katherine Appleton from Bournemouth, a psychological expert who helped develop the app, said the five messages a day were generally very successful.
However, she added that her research suggests that people struggle to properly implement it in their daily lives.
She said: “Almost everyone knows that they should eat five a day.
“But when we looked a little deeper, it turned out that many people didn’t know what counted for the goal, they didn’t know what a portion size was, and many didn’t realize that they should eat five different things.
“Our studies also showed that less knowledge was associated with less fruit and vegetable consumption.”
In a poll conducted before the app was created, the team found that 9 percent of people thought chips and strawberry jam were part of their five a day, while 6 percent thought chips were included.
People also had trouble understanding portion sizes when it came to smaller fruits like raspberries, with more than 90 percent of questions about that fruit’s portion size getting it wrong.
This is where SMART-5-A-DAY comes into play.
Users enter how many specific fruits and vegetables they eat per meal or snack, and then it calculates how it counts to fill each of the recommended five per day.
Professor Appleton hopes the app will have a lasting impact on how people incorporate healthy eating into their diets.
“What’s unique about this app is that it not only tracks daily fruit and vegetable consumption, but it also teaches people portion size so they know what to eat themselves,” she said.
“We believe this will be a powerful tool for improving people’s diets over the long term, not just for the short time they use the app.”
While government estimates vary, the general consensus is that too many Britons are not meeting NHS recommendations for eating fresh fruit and vegetables
The NHS five-a-day guideline was issued in 2003 based on the World Health Organisation’s recommendation that eating 400g of fruit and vegetables a day helps reduce the risk of serious health problems such as heart disease, stroke and some types of cancer.
British adults are recommended to eat five different 80g portions of fruit and vegetables every day.
It can be fresh, frozen and dried portions.
However, there are some limitations. For example, potatoes do not count at all.
Legumes and beans can only make up one serving, no matter how much you eat. This rule also applies to juices and smoothies.
Fruits and vegetables are packed with vitamins and minerals needed for a variety of body functions and are also a good source of fiber, an essential element for proper digestion.
When consumed as part of a balanced diet, it is also less likely to cause obesity than other higher-fat food options.
Obesity is a growing health problem in the UK, with some estimates suggesting that the health problems it causes, such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and some cancers, cost the healthcare system £6 billion every year.
Numerous studies suggest that far too few Britons include enough healthy food in their diet.
A 2019 analysis of government data by the Health and Dietary Supplement Information Service found that just 31 percent of adults ages 19 to 64, 26 percent of adults 65 and older, and a shocking 12 percent of those 11- to 18-year-olds reach their recommended five portions a day.
Other government estimates differ, with results from a 2019/20 survey of 17,000 people for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport showing that 55 per cent of people aged 16 and over said they eat five portions a day.
NHS data for 2018, the latest available to the health service, showed that just 28 per cent of adults and 18 per cent of children eat the recommended amount of fruit and vegetables.
SMART 5-A-DAY is available today on the Google Play Store for Android phones.
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
