To maintain a healthy lifestyle, WHO recommends eating 400 g of fruit and vegetables per day; reducing fat, sugar and salt intake; and regular physical activity.
- WHO and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) state that intake of transfats should be as low as possible (<1% of total energy intake, which equates to no more than 2 g of transfats per day for a person requiring 2000 kcal).
- WHO recommends a reduction to less than 2 g/day of sodium (5 g/day salt) for adults, and for children a maximum of 2 g/day of sodium adjusted downwards based on the energy requirements of children relative to those of adults.
- Excessive consumption of salt (more than 5 g per day) raises blood pressure, a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases such as heart disease and stroke, the leading cause of death in the WHO European Region.
- Salt intake ranges from about 9 g to 19 g per day in the European Region, far above the WHO target of less than 5 g per day.
- In both adults and children, WHO recommends reducing the intake of free sugars to less than 10% of total energy intake and ideally less than 5%.
- Free sugars include monosaccharides and disaccharides added to foods and beverages by the manufacturer, cook or consumer, and sugars naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit juice concentrates.
- While intake varies across countries in the European Region, the available data show that the majority of adults are consuming more than 5% of energy from added sugars (roughly 25 g/day of added sugars, assuming an average 2000 Kcal diet).
- Some population groups exceed 10% (roughly 50 g/day), with young men having the highest absolute intakes.
- 1 in 4 adolescents eat sweets and 1 in 6 consume sugary drinks at least once a day. This is despite declines in sweets and soft drinks consumption and an increase in fruit and vegetable intake since 2014 (Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) data 2018).
- The available data suggest that the major sources of sugars in the diet of people in the European Region are sugary drinks and sweet foods, including confectionery (sweets/candy), chocolates, cakes, pastries and biscuits.
- The WHO/FAO report recommends 400 g of edible fruit and vegetables per day as a population-wide intake goal for the prevention of noncommunicable diseases, as well as for the prevention and alleviation of several micronutrient deficiencies. This translates to around 5 80-g portions per day. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, cassava and other starchy roots are not classified as fruits or vegetables.
