Issues around nutrition and diet in the United Kingdom

In the last decade, concern over nutrition and diet has been increased. According to Johnson (2020), there is a growing trend in the UK in which consumers are moving forward to having a healthy diet in their daily lives. Hence, it becomes a great opportunity for the hospitality and foodservice (HaFS) sector to include nutrition information in menu planning. A study by Emenheiser et al., (1999) stated that hospitality management students noticed the importance of having knowledge in nutrition and diet. It is a competitive advantage for graduates to have the latest nutrition knowledge and utilise their understanding to create a realistic solution (Emenheiser et al., 1999). Therefore, it can be said that nutrition and diet are important elements for the hospitality industry to attract demand.

Furthermore, within the HaFS sector, nutrition and diet for employees should be considered as a critical element in creating a satisfactory working environment. A previous research study by Seibt et al., (2015) demonstrated that hospitality shift-workers tend to have irregular food intake or missing meal which causes an unfavourable nutritional behaviour. Thus, it is likely to cause health problems such as a bad digestive system. Consequently, this can influence employees’ productivity hence, customer services. Therefore, it is essential for the hospitality entities to aware of their employees’ health by providing nutritious diet during shifts. It is recommended that HaFS sector will raise awareness of nutrition and diet information among their employees.

Nevertheless, 17 per cent of the UK population comes from low-income households in 2018/19 (Francis-Devine, 2020). One study by Attree (2006) revealed that diet and nutrition among low-income groups is a key public health concern in the UK. Low-income households tend to consume a higher level of fat, sugar and salt and less fruit and vegetable (Attree, 2006). In consequences, the affordability for fresh food is in question which is also the government concern over the food insecurity rate in the UK. Hence, it is suggesting that food insecurity is related to nutrition and diet intake.

To support low-income households, the UK government has introduced the National School Fruit Scheme to provide fruit every day for children in the Local Education Authority (Attree, 2006). More schemes have been established to support people in disadvantaged areas to have more nutritious diet such as Sure Start initiative and Healthy Living Centres (Attree, 2006). As a result, it indicated the UK government is supporting the low-income household in accessing fresh food. Thus, it is likely to increase the food security level in the UK.

Nutrition is an important factor in dietary to ensure health and well-being for people at all-ages. It is critical that consumers are aware of the importance of nutrition and diet. Moreover, it is also critical for hospitality businesses to provide a nutritious diet for their employees as well as inform customers of nutrition values through menu planning (Emenheiser et al., 1999).

References:

Attree, P. (2006) "A critical analysis of UK public health policies in relation to diet and nutrition in low-income households". Maternal & Child Nutrition 2(2) [Online] DOI: 10.1111/j.1740-8709.2006.00055.x

Emenheiser, D., Chen, F., Clayton, H. R. and Tas, R. F. (1999) "Teaching Nutrition in Hospitality Management and Culinary Programs: Comparison of US and International schools". Research and Professional Briefs 99(9), 1103-1105. [Online] DOI: 10.1016/S0002-8223(99)00265-5

Francis-Devine, B. (2020) Poverty in the UK: statistics. Research Briefing. Houses of Commons Library. [Online] [Accessed on 23rd October 2020] https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn07096/#:~:text=In%202018%2F19%3A,level%20to%20the%20year%20before.

Johnson, G. R. (2020) UK diet trends 2020. Finder. [Online] [Accessed on 23rd October 2020] https://www.finder.com/uk/uk-diet-trends

Seibt, R., Sube, T., Spitzer, S., Hunger, B. and Rudolf, M. (2015) "Nutrition and health in hotel staff on different shift patterns". Occupational Medicine 65(6) [Online] DOI: 10.1093/occmed/kqv068