The Low Fibre Intake Problem: Is Packaged Food the Culprit or the Key?

Let’s be honest, fibre is not a sexy nutrient. It doesn’t have the sweetness of sugar, the guilty indulgence of fat or the ‘cool-factor’ of protein. Yet increasing fibre intake is one of the most positive dietary changes that can be made to improve health – its benefits include improved blood glucose control, lower blood pressure and cholesterol, increased satiety, improved weight management and regulation of bowel movement. So as consumers, why don’t we eat more? Mainly because of our dependence on packaged food and soft drinks, which generally contain low amounts of fibre; their increased consumption over the last half century has been pegged to lower fibre intakes. While fresh fruit, vegetables and whole grains are all good sources of fibre, increasing the high-fibre offerings of packaged products is a good opportunity for the food industry and an idea that is explored further in the global briefing “More Needs to be Done: Nutrition Data Reveal Packaged Food and Soft Drinks Deliver too Little Fibre”.