Decades Of Decline – Health And Wellbeing Impacts Of Falling Nutrient Intakes

The latest HSIS report ‘Decades of Decline’ looks at the health and wellbeing impacts of falling nutrient intakes and shows diets have become less healthy and with three decades of decline. The findings are based on new HSIS research^[1] which analysed official dietary data in the UK from 1997, combined with an exploration of current eating patterns and nutrient intakes among adults, across the UK.

Key findings paint a worrying picture of the nation’s nutritional status and show declines in vitamin A, vitamin D, calcium, folic acid, iodine, iron, magnesium, omega-3 fatty acids, potassium, selenium and zinc.

These shortfalls and deficiencies have important implications not only for specific high-risk demographic groups but are markers of a poor diet more generally, a driver for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity and other major public health challenges.

This HSIS report explores the latest dietary data and trends, highlights the challenges which are preventing both children and adults from achieving adequate nutrient intakes and looks at the implications of these shortfalls for long-term health outcomes and the NHS. To read the report Decades Of Decline

^[1] Mason P et al. (2024). British Dietary Habits and Declining Nutrient Intakes. In press.

Decades Of Decline