The UK’s getting fatter – because we’re eating much more than we realise | Michael Hallsworth

We’re hugely under-estimating our daily calories – so the way we consume food needs to be overhauled

Can you remember what you ate yesterday? If asked, most people will be able to dredge up a vague description of their main meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner. But can you be sure you’ve noted every snack bar en route to the car, or every handful of nuts at your desk? Most people will have the lingering feeling that they’ve missed something out.

We originally had this suspicion back in 2016, puzzled by the fact that national statistics showed calorie consumption falling dramatically over past decades. We found ​reliable evidence that people were drastically under-reporting what they ate – and the problem was getting worse over time.

If people do not know how much they are eating, it can be really hard for people to stick to a diet

Related: Saving the NHS means forcing us to change the way we lead our lives | Nick Cohen

Continue reading... February 19, 2018 at 08:59PM