The UK’s Prime Minister recently introduced a plan to tackle obesity due to growing evidence of a link between obesity and an increased risk from Covid-19. Statistics have shown that nearly 8% of critically ill patients in intensive care units with the virus have been morbidly obese, compared with 2.9% of the general population.
As a result, a number of different measures will be put into place, including: GPs encouraging patients to prescribe exercises such as cycling, doctors will also be offered incentives to provide help for those who are obese from next year, expanded weight management services from the NHS, as well as the banning of junk food adverts before 21:00 and buy one get one free deals on unhealthy food. These measures will undoubtedly have an effect on the different ways people shop for their food, with more people looking to save money when finding and purchasing all of the necessary ingredients to adopt a new, healthier lifestyle also while shopping safely.
Ubamarket recently conducted a survey which found that 21% of Brits base the meals they eat at home almost entirely on recipes they have enjoyed previously in restaurants, the nation’s favourite lockdown recipe is Curry, closely followed by Spaghetti Bolognese and a good old-fashioned roast:
1. Curry – 21.6%
2. Spaghetti Bolognese – 20.0%
3. Roast Dinner – 19.8%
4. Lasagne – 13.1%
5. Chilli – 12.2%
6. Casserole – 6.9%
7. Stir Fry – 6.5%
8. Shepherd’s Pie – 6.1
9. Cottage Pie – 5.8%
10. Soup – 4.7%
The British palate is clearly diverse, with curry and spaghetti Bolognese topping the charts, and many of the meals in Britain’s top-10 are quintessential “home-cooked” dishes, such as cottage pie, shepherd’s pie, casserole and roast dinners. However, Ubamarket’s nationally representative research also found that 10% of Brits – 4,683,000 people – don’t know how to cook a good/ healthy meal from scratch, and 8% of Brits claim that most of these are microwave meals. With over 3 million Brits eating more take-out food than home-cooked food, and 5% of Brits ordering take-out food more than 3 times a week, these new measures will certainly have effects on both eating and shopping habits.
Now, with the potential ban of unhealthier food options, there is sure to be an increasing number of people to be shopping for ingredients to cook their meals at home. One way in which supermarkets can help to streamline the process and help Brits revitalise their health and diets, is through the integration of technology into supermarkets. Features such as exclusive access to personalised deals, automatic loyalty points and aisle sat-nav is sure to help to promote a healthier lifestyle, as well as helping to build consumer confidence for those unsure about home cooking.
With this in mind, Founder of Ubamarket, Will Broome, offers tips and advice on how to revitalise your supermarket shop:
“The Government’s recent measures to tackle obesity will certainly change the way the UK’s consumers shop. As people move away from unhealthier options, there will be an increasing number of people looking to cook healthier dishes from home. This shift in consumer behaviour will undoubtedly have effects on the retail sector, and one way of helping retailers adapt to this is the integration of technology.
