Did you think that we are making more healthy choices in terms of nutrition and health these days? Nothing could be further from the truth, according to research. Worldwide, our diet is just as unhealthy as it was thirty years ago, and that is striking.
Before we delve deeper into the research, let’s go back in time for a moment. Thirty years ago, not so many people cared about smoking. In fact, it was even allowed to smoke on the plane. Something we certainly can’t imagine now.
We can therefore say that in thirty years we have gained a lot more knowledge about nutrition and health. However, this is not reflected in the worldwide research of Tufts’ Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy in Boston, America. The study looked at the diets of adults and children from 185 countries.
Unhealthier eating pattern
Each country was assigned a number from 0 to 100 by the researchers. 0 stands for the unhealthiest, a diet with only sugar and processed meat. A score of 100 represents a diet consisting of fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts and grains.
In 1990, for the first time a figure was given to the diet worldwide. This became a score of 38.8. Now, some thirty years later, the world can expect almost the same figure on its report. With a score of 40.3 we are only 1.5 points ahead, which is shockingly low when you consider how much more knowledge we have about nutrition and health.
Lead researcher Victoria Miller says that it is clear that more legumes, nuts and vegetables have been eaten in recent years. “However, these improvements are offset by increased intake of unhealthy components such as red and processed meats, sugar-sweetened drinks and salt,” Miller said.
How does the Netherlands score in the survey?
Only ten countries, including Vietnam, Iran, Indonesia and India, received a score above 50. The lowest scoring countries were Mexico, Brazil and the United States. And we hear you thinking: how does the Netherlands score in terms of a healthy diet? Not too good either, unfortunately. In this graph we see that the Netherlands has a score between 40 and 43. Also a big fail.
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The moral of the story? It can’t hurt to eat a little healthier. Leave that processed meat a little more often, and opt for a healthy portion of vegetables and legumes. Swap that sugar-packed soda for a glass of water. Opt for less sugary products, opt for more unprocessed nuts. Who knows, maybe we will score a lot higher in thirty years’ time.
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New research paints a sad picture of global diet