Brits Indulge in ‘Sat Fatadays’

4 months ago 18th Jul 10:13

New research identifies Britain’s saturated fat binge culture at weekend

Weekend favourites such as pepperoni pizza can contain a hefty 18g of saturated fat, and a single sausage roll has 11g Sat Fat. Just two small foil pats of butter (20g) on toast in the morning amounts to a huge 10.8g Sat Fat, whilst 30g of cheese contains 7g Sat Fat. Processed foods such as confectionery, pastries, ready meals and full fat dairy products all feature high on the list of Sat Fat culprits.

Unilever, who commissioned the research with TNS to determine where the nation is eating too much saturated fat in their diets, has launched a new website www.satfatnav.com in response to the findings. The site has been designed to help educate Brits on the health issues surrounding sat fats. It contains a wealth of hints and tips to illustrate how simple food swaps and adaptations can make popular and favourite foods healthier and bring sat fat intake to within guidelines.

Sian Porter says, ‘These results further reinforce the need, which has been recognised by the government, to educate consumers on saturated fats and the importance of eating a diet lower in saturated fats. Many people try to eat healthily during the week but have a tendency to relax at weekends nutritionally, throwing caution to the wind as ‘Sat Fataday’ shows. Indulgence can be a positive thing but, for our health, we should know when to stop.’

‘Even something as simple swapping foods like butter, which is high in saturated fat with small amounts of a healthy margarine made from seed or vegetable oils, which is significantly lower in saturated fat, can easily reduce an individual’s saturated fat consumption at the weekend, as does grilling your cooked breakfast instead of frying it, trimming the fat from bacon or having a tea cake instead of a Danish pastry.’

Back to page 1