| Information component |
County Health Profiles: Pg 4 Health Summary – Indicator 14 |
| Subject category / domain(s) |
The way we live |
| Indicator name (* Indicator title in health profile) |
Prevalence of adults who eat healthily (*Healthy eating adults) |
| PHO with lead responsibility |
SEPHO |
| Date of PHO dataset creation |
15/12/2006 |
| Indicator definition |
Prevalence of healthy eating, percentage of resident population, adults, 2000-2002, persons |
| Geography |
England, GOR, County. |
| Timeliness |
Updated annually. |
|
Rationale:What this indicator purports to measure
|
Prevalence of adult healthy eating, that is adults who consume 5 or more portions of fruit and vegetables per day |
|
Rationale:Public Health Importance
|
The indicator is a measure of a protective lifestyle factor. A diet rich in fruit and vegetables confers protective effects against the development of heart disease and certain cancers. It has been estimated that eating at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables a day could reduce the risk of deaths from chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke, and cancer by up to 20%.It has been estimated that diet might contribute to the development of one-third of all cancers, and that increasing fruit and vegetable consumption is the second most important cancer prevention strategy, after reducing smoking. In 1998, the Department of Health’s Committee on Medical Aspects of Food Policy and Nutrition reviewed the evidence and concluded that higher vegetable consumption would reduce the risk of colorectal cancer and gastric cancer. There was also weakly consistent evidence that higher fruit and vegetable consumption would reduce the risk of breast cancer. These cancers combined represent about 18% of the cancer burden in men and about 30% in women.Higher consumption of fruit and vegetables also reduces the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke. A recent study found that each increase of 1 portion of fruit and vegetables a day lowered the risk of coronary heart disease by 4% and the risk of stroke by 6%. Evidence also suggests an increase in fruit and vegetable intake can help lower blood pressure. Research suggests that there are other health benefits, including delaying the development of cataracts, reducing the symptoms of asthma, improving bowel function, and helping to manage diabetes. As well as the direct health benefits, eating fruit and vegetables can help to achieve other dietary goals including increasing fibre intake, reducing fat intake, help maintain a healthy weight, and substituting for foods with added sugars (as frequent consumption of foods with added sugars can contribute to tooth decay). |
| Rationale: Purpose behind the inclusion of the indicator |
To estimate the proportion of adults who consume 5 or more portions of fruit and vegetables per day in local authorities.To help increase the prevalence of healthy eating and the health benefits associated with eating a healthy diet. |
|
Rationale:Policy relevance
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Choosing Health: Making healthy choices easier.http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/ Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_4094550 Department of Health National 5 A Day programmehttp://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Policyandguidance/Healthandsocialcaretopics/FiveADay/ FiveADaygeneralinformation/index.htm. The NHS Planhttp://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/ PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_4002960. The NHS Cancer Planhttp://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/ PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_4009609. National Service Framework for Coronary Heart Disease http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/ Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_4094275. National Service Framework for Diabeteshttp://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Policyandguidance/ Healthandsocialcaretopics/Diabetes/DH_4015717. National Service Framework for Older People http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/ Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_4003066 |
| Interpretation: What a high / low level of indicator value means |
A high indicator value (amber circle in health summary chart) represents a statistically significant higher level of adults who are estimated to consume 5 or more portions of fruit and vegetables per day when compared to the national value.A low indicator value (red circle in health summary chart) represents a statistically significant lower level of adults who are estimated to consume 5 or more portions of fruit and vegetables per day when compared to the national value. |
| Interpretation: Potential for error due to type of measurement method |
HSE numerator data are broadly based on observed self-reported daily consumption of fruit and vegetables. Self-reported consumption may be prone to respondent bias. There may be variation in how informants defined and reported the amount of food consumed. Although everyday measures were used to help informants to define how much they had consumed, this task may have been difficult for certain food items, such as fruit in composite foods like apple pie.There may also be a discrepancy between these estimates and the lower tier synthetic estimates (districts) which are based on modelled data. This has lead to inconsistencies between lower tier and county estimates for some areas as the datasets are derived using different methods. |
| Interpretation: Potential for error due to bias and confounding |
The Health Survey for England under-samples younger people, people in employment, ethnic minorities, women, those who are healthier but exhibit less healthy behaviour.These data have not been age-standardised and, therefore, variation between area values may be a result of differences in population structure. |
| Confidence Intervals: Definition and purpose |
A confidence interval is a range of values that is normally used to describe the uncertainty around a point estimate of a quantity, for example, a mortality rate. This uncertainty arises as factors influencing the indicator are subject to chance occurrences that are inherent in the world around us. These occurrences result in random fluctuations in the indicator value between different areas and time periods. In the case of indicators based on a sample of the population, uncertainty also arises from random differences between the sample and the population itself.The stated value should therefore be considered as only an estimate of the true or ‘underlying’ value. Confidence intervals quantify the uncertainty in this estimate and, generally speaking, describe how much different the point estimate could have been if the underlying conditions stayed the same, but chance had led to a different set of data. The wider is the confidence interval the greater is the uncertainty in the estimate.Confidence intervals are given with a stated probability level. In Health Profiles 2007 this is 95%, and so we say that there is a 95% probability that the interval covers the true value. The use of 95% is arbitrary but is conventional practice in medicine and public health. The confidence intervals have also been used to make comparisons against the national value. For this purpose the national value has been treated as an exact reference value rather than as an estimate and, under these conditions, the interval can be used to test whether the value is statistically significantly different to the national. If the interval includes the national value, the difference is not statistically significant and the value is shown on the health summary chart with a white symbol. If the interval does not include the national value, the difference is statistically significant and the value is shown on the health summary chart with a red or amber symbol depending on whether it is worse or better than the national value respectively. |
