Brits beaten by Italians and French in healthy eating stakes, says Samsung survey

As the nation gets ready for the summer holiday season, an independent study released by Samsung suggests that Brits planning holidays to France or Italy should take note of the eating habits in those countries.

The Samsung Healthy Eating Report – which was commissioned to celebrate the launch of the Samsung Food Showcase refrigerator – highlights that Brits, along with the Poles and Germans, are amongst the most relaxed in Europe when it comes to their diets.

The Italians and French believe they have the healthiest diets, with 66% and 64% of people in those countries claiming to mainly eat and drink healthy items, with the very occasional treat, followed by Poles (43%), Germans (41%) and Brits (39%).

The survey reveals that three-quarters of Brits make an effort to eat healthily, but only one in 10 manage to stick to a healthy eating plan. More than half (55%) of people in the UK admit to consuming a mix of healthy and unhealthy food and 62% confess to buying unhealthy treats even when they are trying to stick to a healthy diet, compared to 46% of Poles and 77% of Germans.

Brits are less likely to buy fresh organic produce when on a diet, with just 14% admitting to buying organic compared with 72% of Italians. However, the UK is the country least likely to only buy healthy food when on a diet, compared with almost half (43%) of Italians. German dieters are revealed to be the most likely to still be bringing unhealthier food into the home either for themselves or others when they are on a diet.

Nick Osborne, product manager – refrigeration, Samsung UK & Ireland said: “Most of the time everyone in the family eats different things, so the refrigerator tends to be full of a variety of healthy and unhealthy food. Our research has revealed that to stop healthy eaters from reaching straight for the unhealthy food, having a fridge that has different zones for different foods makes it much easier for them to stick to their diet.”