Almost all Brits are missing out on key nutrient linked to bowel cancer explosion in under 50s, shock report finds

Daily Mail​

3 days ago

Almost every person in the UK fails to eat enough fibre—a key factor in raising bowel cancer risk—a shock new report has revealed today.
Under NHS guidance, adults should consume at least 30g of the nutrient every day.
This is equivalent to around five portions of fruit and veg, as well as two thick slices of wholemeal bread and a large jacket potato with the skin on.
But data released by the Government's Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) show a staggering 96 per cent of adults don't meet this requirement.
Tracking UK diets between 2019 and 2023, the report also found less than one in 10 children and only a fifth of adults eat their recommended five fruit and vegetables a day.
And nine in 10 children are eating too much sugar per day, alongside a fifth of adults putting them at risk of problems like tooth decay and obesity.
It comes amid a rise in bowel cancer striking people in their 20s, 30s and 40s —a phenomenon that has baffled doctors around the world.
England has experienced one of the fastest rises in early-onset cases of the disease worldwide, with an average annual increase of 3.6 per cent between 2007 and 2017 among under-50s.
Research suggests more than a quarter (28 per cent) of all bowel cancer cases in the UK are caused by eating too little fibre.
Sometimes referred to as 'roughage', fibre is vital for digestion and helps keep people feeling fuller for longer.
However, experts have long warned that the rise of processed food—which often cuts out much of the fibre in raw ingredients—has left people eating dangerously low levels.
According to the National Diet and Nutrition Survey, Britons aged 19 to 64 years and over 75 ate just 16.4g of fibre on average per day, just over half of what they should.
Cereals and 'cereal products' were the main source of fibre across all age groups, contributing up to half of the average daily intake, the OHID report found.
Vegetables and vegetable dishes followed, accounting for just under a quarter.
The report also revealed sugar intake across both adults and children were worryingly high.
It found less than one in 10 children (9 per cent) and fewer than one in 5 adults (19 per cent) met the NHS's recommended daily free sugar limit of 30g (roughly equivalent to seven teaspoons).
Eating too much sugar, which is packed with energy, can contribute to potentially harmful weight gain which in turn increases the risk of serious issues like heart disease, some cancers as well as type 2 diabetes.
The sweet stuff is also bad for oral health and can trigger severe dental decay and even tooth loss.
It's for these reasons the NHS recommends adults have no more than 30g of free sugars a day, (roughly equivalent to seven teaspoons).
Children aged seven to 10 should have no more than six teaspoons, while for younger kids, the recommendation is five.
Free sugar is the type of sweet stuff that's added to food rather than bound up within it. For example the sugar in cakes, sweets, chocolate and some yoghurts, but not that found in fruit.
Both adults and children also failed to also meet the recommended saturated fat daily intake.
The NHS recommends adult men eat no more than 30g of saturated fat per day and women 20g—equal to about nine or six eggs, or seven or five Mars bars.
But the report found, 85 per cent of children and 82 per cent of adults exceeded the recommendation.
On average, children aged 11 to 18 years also ate just 2.8 portions of fruit and vegetables a day.
Only nine percent of this cohort met the '5 A Day' recommendation.
Adults, meanwhile, consumed 3.7 portions per day, with 17 per cent meeting the '5 A Day' recommendation.
Researchers suggested this low figure could be blamed on a 'combination of lack of availability during the Covid pandemic and cost of living pressures'.
Responding to the findings, Sonia Pombo, head of research for campaign group Action on Salt, told MailOnline: 'These new findings from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey are a stark reminder that the UK population is not getting the nutrition they need for good health, particularly children.
'The persistently low intake of fruit, vegetables, and fibre, coupled with excessive consumption of free sugars and saturated fats, is setting the stage for serious public health consequences, including cardiovascular disease, obesity and type 2 diabetes.
'With nearly three-quarters of people now buying food and drink out each week, and ultra-processed products dominating, the government must introduce and enforce bold, evidence-based policies that improve access to affordable, nutritious food and curb unhealthy food marketing.
'Previous efforts to improve this voluntarily have clearly not worked.
'We need the Government to learn from previous failures, and be bold and ambitious in their policymaking, including mandatory targets for sugar and salt reduction, with financial penalties on those who fail to comply.'
It comes just weeks after ministers again delayed plans to ban junk food adverts targeting children until early 2026.
Labour made new rules prohibiting unhealthy food ads online and before 9pm on television a key election manifesto pledge, and after winning power it promised the ban would come into force across the UK on October 1.
But the legislation has now been shelved until January next year after lobbying by the food industry.
Around 32,000 cases of bowel cancer are diagnosed every year in the UK with another 142,000 in the US.
The disease, the third most common cancer in the UK, is the same type that killed Dame Deborah James aged 40 in 2022.
Scientists have suggested a host of factors are likely behind the phenomenon—from increased pollution to rising obesity and even invisible particles of plastic in drinking water.