The nutritional value of UK commercial ready meals

Background- High obesity rates in the UK are a public health concern with the expense it places on the NHS. £4.7 billion a year is spent on ready meals in the UK, but the impact that consumption has in relation to obesity is not yet conclusive (Euromonitor, 2019). The aim was to assess the nutritional value of UK commercial ready meals in order to know whether they are beneficial to health or increase the risk of disease Methods- Nutritional data was collected for all Indian ready meals from the 4 leading supermarkets (Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, and Morrisons). Meals were classified into meal types which were standard, value, luxury and healthy. The energy, fat, saturated fat, carbohydrate, sugar, protein, fibre, and salt content were all compared across meal types according to the quantity per 100g and per portion. Macronutrients were also categorised into the front of pack traffic light labelling system. Results- Findings show that ready meals are high in saturated fat and salt, and low in fibre. Luxury ready meals contained the highest amount of saturated fat (6.69g/portion) and value ready meals had high quantities (5.6g/portion). Value ready meals were the cheapest (£1.00/portion) but contained the highest amount of salt (1.86g/portion). Fibre content ranged between 4.9g-6.49g, with healthy ready meals containing the lowest amount. Conclusion- Overall, ready meals could be harmful to health if they are consumed regularly due to their high saturated fat and salt content, but occasional consumption will not increase the risk of disease. The elderly who regularly consume ready meals could be consuming high levels of saturated fat and salt alongside a low intake of fibre. Ready meals categorised as healthy are lower in fat, saturated fat and salt showing that reformulation is possible which could impact ready meals available in supermarkets in the future