The YouGov Food Study looked into which foods do Britons eat the most.
How often do you eat…?
Results show that vegetables and dairy products are the most commonly consumed food types among Britons, with seven in ten having them daily. A quarter of Britons 27% eat vegetables several times a day and 43% say they have them at least once a day. When it comes to dairy products, 68% of Britons are consuming them daily.
More than a third of Britons (37%) report eating meat at least once a day and 41% have it a few times a week. Eleven percent of those who eat meat have it just a few times a month or less often.
Half of Britons (52%) eat fruit daily, with a quarter (26%) having fruit at least once a week. One in five (20%) have fruit a few times a month or less often.
Sweets are eaten daily by four in ten Britons (39%). A third (34%) have them a few times a week and 14% a few times a month. One in eight (12%) say they have sweets less often or never. The comparison shows that vegetarians are more likely than meat-eaters to have sweets every day (48% vs 39%).
More than a third of Britons (37%) eat fish weekly, but one in eight (12%) say they never have it. More women (15%) than men (9%) say they never eat fish. The study finds that the youngest generation is least likely to eat fish, with one in five (20%) – and significantly more young women (28%) than men (13%) – who never eat it.
Carbohydrates such as pasta, rice or potatoes are consumed by a third (35%) of Britons daily, while just 5% say they never eat this type of food. Britons under 40 are more likely to eat pasta, rice or potatoes on a daily basis (39-43%), compared to those who are older (32-34%).
One in eight (12%) Britons have nuts daily, while 10% never eat them.
How often do you buy organic food?
It has been reported that the consumption of organic food in the UK has soared to a 15-year-high. The YouGov Food Study finds that one in five Britons (21%) say they buy organic food very or fairly often. Around half (46%) say they sometimes buy organic but not very often.
More than one in four Britons - 27% - don’t buy organic food at all.
The youngest Britons – aged 16-24 – are twice as likely (9%) as other age groups to say they buy organic food very often.
Our results also show that a third (33%) of vegetarians often buy organic food, twice as many (17%) as those who eat meat.
And how often do you eat the following…?
The YouGov Food Study finds that one in five (22%) people in the UK report having a takeaway at least once a week, while 62% of Britons have at least a monthly takeaway. One in nine (11%) say they never have takeaways.
Frozen food is consumed by 7% of Britons every day, Seven in ten Britons (70%) eat frozen food at least once a week, including 7% who consume something from the freezer on a daily basis.
Overall 56% of Britons have tinned food at least once during the week, including 5% who do so daily. When it comes to ready-meals, one in five (22%) have them at least once during the week.
How often do Britons have a snack on a typical day?
Our study shows that nearly half of Britons (46%) have one snack a day, with a further quarter (25%) preferring two, and one in ten (11%) like to have at least three snacks a day.
Thirteen percent of Britons never snack, with those aged 60 and older (19%) most likely to forego snacks altogether.
The age breakdown shows that the biggest numbers of grazers are among the younger generations: 19% of 16-24-year-olds like having three snacks or more a day, compared to 11-12% of those between 25 and 59 years of age and just 5% of those who are 60 or over.
What are Britons favourite snacks?
Crisps come first as the most favourite snack, selected by a third of Britons (33%). They are closely followed by cookies, cakes and pastries (28%). Confectionery – chocolates or sweets – (23%) share third place with fruit and veg (22%).
Different snacks are popular with different generations: the youngest Britons (16-24 year olds) prefer cookies, cakes and pastries (35%) most, while for those aged 25-59 crisps are most popular (36-40%), and the oldest generation’s snack of choice is evenly split between fruit & veg (26%), cookies/cakes/pastries (26%) and crisps (25%).
See full results here
