People living in the poorer areas of Scotland consume almost double the amount of sugary drinks in comparison to the rest of the country, new research reveals.
Analysis by Food Standards Scotland (FSS) also shows that young adults aged between 16-35 years old were the highest consumers of sugary soft drinks.
Alana McDonald, Senior Public Health Nutrition Advisor at FSS, said: “Improving our population’s health by ensuring everyone can access healthier food and drink options food has never been more important. What surrounds us, shapes us and the food environment is a key factor which influences the daily food choices we make.”
Consumption of food and drink that are not needed for health – known as discretionary foods – accounts for around 15% of calorie intake and almost 40% of sugar.
In total, FSS found that these discretionary foods and drinks, as well as breakfast cereals, ready meals and pizza contributed 28% to average intakes of calories, 18% to average intakes of total fat and saturated fat, and 49% to average intakes of sugars.
McDonald added: “Many discretionary and high fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) food items are purchased on promotion, which can encourage us to buy more than we need, or to buy things we weren’t intending to in the first place.
“FSS welcomes the Scottish government’s confirmation that it is fully committed to legislating to restrict HFSS promotions and will now proceed directly to consult on the detail of proposed regulations and plans for implementation this autumn.”
