New research from Samsung reveals three quarters of people in the UK try to eat healthily but only one in ten stick to it.
An independent study released by Samsung suggests that Brits planning holidays to France or Italy should take note of the eating habits in those countries.
The Samsung Healthy Eating Report – which was commissioned to celebrate the launch of the Samsung Food Showcase refrigerator – highlights that British people along with the Polish and Germans are amongst the most relaxed in Europe when it comes to their diet. The Italians and French believe they have the healthiest diets, with 66% and 64% of people in those countries claiming to mainly eat and drink healthy things with the very occasional treat. That was followed by the Polish (43%), Germans (41%) and Brits (39%).
The survey revealed that three quarters of British people make an effort to eat healthily, but only one in ten manage to actually stick to their healthy eating plan. More than half (55%) of people in the UK admit to consuming a mix of healthy and unhealthy food and 62% confess to buying unhealthy treats even when they are trying to stick to a healthy diet.
Brits are less likely to buy fresh organic produce when on a diet, with just 14% admitting to buying organic. However, the UK is the country least likely to only buy healthy food when they are on a diet, compared with almost half (43%) of Italians. German dieters are revealed to be the most likely to still be bringing unhealthier food into the home either for themselves or others when they are on a diet.
Top five ways that Brits try to avoid temptation when healthy eating
While the British are relaxed about their diet, the report reveals that many people use a number of different tactics when trying to stick to a healthy eating plan, including:
1. Only having healthy food in the house – 46%
2. Using up all unhealthy food before they start – 28%
3. Hiding unhealthy food – 15%
4. Organising meals for specific days of the week in containers in the fridge – 12%
5. Giving unhealthy food away – 6%
However, nearly 66% of British people say better organisation of their kitchen would help them stick to a healthy eating plan. Brits are more likely to look for ways not to come across unhealthy food as a way of sticking to their diet, while the Polish and Italians think that by being better organised in their food storage they will spend less time looking for healthy food as it’s the first thing they see when they open their cupboards.
Samsung UK & Ireland product manager – refrigeration Nick Osborne commented: “Most of the time everyone in the family eats different things, so the refrigerator tends to be full of a variety of healthy and unhealthy food. Our research has revealed that to stop healthy eaters from reaching straight for the unhealthy food, having a fridge that has different zones for different foods makes it much easier for them to stick to their diet.”
The Samsung Food Showcase refrigerator is available in the UK from this month.
