Brits more worried about weight gain than COVID-19

Nine out of ten UK adults have concerns about their health according to a new survey[1] commissioned by British Lion Eggs this month - but COVID-19 is not the top worry.

The top concerns, each named by more than 45% of adults, were weight gain and not exercising enough – edging ahead of the 44 per cent who were anxious about catching COVID-19.  

The next most common worries were eating too much junk food (36%) and not getting enough vitamin D (33%). 

Commenting on the survey findings, dietitian Dr Carrie Ruxton said: “Typical January health concerns around weight management and diets have come early this year but simple steps, such as eating your 5-a-day fruit and vegetables, choosing healthy proteins, such as eggs, and filling up on fibre-rich wholefoods can all help.

“Eggs are particularly useful for weight management because they’re high in protein – which helps us feel fuller for longer – yet contain only 66 calories per egg.  They are also rich in vitamin D and selenium which can help boost immunity.”

Despite people’s concerns about not getting enough vitamin D, awareness of foods that are naturally rich in vitamin D was shockingly low, with just 36% of adults naming oily fish and 33% naming eggs, despite these being the best natural sources in the diet, and 22% wrongly thinking milk contains vitamin D.

The British Lion Eggs survey showed that chocolates, crisps and biscuits were the top three ‘go to’ foods during lockdown, although six out of ten people planned to do things differently following the first lockdown with the top choices being exercising more, eating healthier foods and losing weight, during the second lockdown. 

More people were worried about eating too much junk food (36%) than overdoing the booze (23%), while one-third fretted about their mental health.

The survey showed that more than half of women were worried about weight gain, compared to 38% of men.  Conversely, men were more likely to worry about their alcohol intake than women.

Remarkably, the proportion of people worried about catching COVID-19 was similar across all age groups, including the over-55s.

Significant age differences were seen for mental health woes, with nearly half (49%) of 18-24-year olds citing this as a worry compared with only a fifth (20%) of people aged over 55 years.

 

For further information or an interview, please contact the British Egg Information Service on 020 7052 8899