Why has the number of Scots eating five-a-day plummeted?

The number of Scots eating five-a-day plummeted last year to the lowest level in more than two decades, according to the latest Scottish Health Survey.

Just over one in ten adults (11 per cent) hit the target, significantly lower than the 20 to 24 per cent range recorded between 2003 and 2021. A mean of 2.9 portions of fruit and vegetables were consumed per day in 2024.

So why are more and more Scots turning away from fruit and veg? The answer, according to Emilie Combet, professor of human nutrition at the University of Glasgow, lies partly in the cost-of-living crisis.

"To some extent there have been some changes in availability, but the main thing is cost," she said. "There's two dimensions to cost.

"The first one is the pound, the financial dimension. Vegetables and fruit are fairly expensive, if we look at the price in pounds per calories.

"If you want energy-dense foods, and you want to spend your money on that, fruit and veg don't quite meet that criteria, and so that's an issue.

"There's also the time element, and the preparation. Obviously, you need time to prep the fruit and veg to maybe prepare them in a way that makes them more appealing to children, family members, yourself and so on.

"There's also a requirement to have access to specific kitchen utensils, crockery and so on, and I think we take for granted that fact that maybe we have them, but not necessarily everyone. There's also a storage issue. Fresh fruit and veg only last for so long - the shelf life is good, but it's not eternal. To some extent they are perishable goods."

Prof Combet said the availability of fruit and veg can be poor in some areas.

She added: "If we're thinking, well, why is this year particularly bad compared to a few previous surveys? The cost-of-living crisis is not going away.

"Salaries have not really kept up with inflation and the impact of the last few years on the price of a food basket has been quite shocking."

The academic argued the "time element" is also critical. "Time is money, so it's all one single loop," she said. "If you're short of money, your time is very valuable. You need to use it to get more resources. Will you necessarily invest that into fruit and veg? Maybe not."

The 2024 Scottish Health Survey, which was based on interviews with 4,591 Scots aged 16 and over and 1,986 children, showed the proportion of adults who consumed five or more portions of fruit and veg per day was highest among those aged 35-44 (16 per cent) and lowest among those aged 25-34 (7 per cent).

So what can be done to turn this around? Prof Combet is involved in a £1 million three-year pilot in Glasgow, which is establishing community-run markets offering healthy foods in some of the city's most deprived areas. She said the scheme aims to increase the availability of fruit, vegetables and other healthier options.

“In this project, there’s an important public engagement part, to work out what people need and want and what works for them,” she said.

She added: “It’s not so much an individual responsibility thing, it’s very much a structural, environmental duty to deliver something different, something better.”