Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve awareness and understanding of the health impact of fibre among younger adults.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government recommends that adults consume 30 grams of fibre every day and that this should come from a variety of food sources. This is reflected in the United Kingdom’s national food model, the Eatwell Guide, which is a visual representation of Government advice on a healthy, balanced diet, and applies to most people from the age of two years old. The Eatwell Guide shows that we should base our diets on foods which are sources of fibre, for instance vegetables, fruit, and wholegrain or higher fibre starchy carbohydrate foods, as well as beans and pulses. The Eatwell Guide is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-eatwell-guide

The Eatwell Guide principles are communicated through a variety of channels, including the NHS.UK website and the Department’s social marketing campaigns Better Health, Better Health Families, and Best Start in Life. For example, the NHS.UK website features a page with advice on the health benefits of dietary fibre and how to get more fibre into your diet, with further information available at the following link:

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/digestive-health/how-to-get-more-fibre-into-your-diet/

The Department, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research, is funding research into the health effects of diet on children and adults, including the effects of fibre. This includes a study which seeks to understand how the diet of children in the UK influences their health in childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood.