Which European Countries Have The Worst Diets? – Forbes Advisor UK

Despite being the birthplace of Shakespeare, the Beatles, Harry Potter and James Bond, the UK is often the butt of the joke in one cultural arena: food.

Compared to its European neighbours, traditional British cuisine has a reputation for being stodgy, bland and – worst of all – unhealthy. 

Eating an unhealthy diet can have a real impact on an individual’s life, well beyond how they feel day-to-day. 

One indirect consequence is the possibility of higher life insurance premiums, since insurers account for the overall state of your health whenever you apply for a policy.

This is usually done by asking for your height and your weight – information that enables them to work out your body mass index (BMI). While there is controversy over the use of BMI as an accurate gauge of health, it remains popular among life insurance companies.

So, with its fish and chips, pies and fry ups, how unhealthy is the average British diet in 2023? Could it be that our preconceived ideas are actually wrong, and that our diet is nothing to be too concerned about?

To find out, Forbes Advisor crunched the numbers to see which European countries have the most and least healthy diets, and how dietary factors can affect life insurance coverage.

European countries with the least healthy diets

Here’s a run-down of the 20 European countries with the least healthy diets, according to our metrics (see methodology below).

Germany

With an Unhealthy Diet Score of 18.4, Germany had the least healthy diet in Europe by our measures.

Of the 27 countries we assessed, Germany had the second highest fat consumption, at 166 grams per person per day, which is 86 grams higher than our NHS’s recommendation for an adult.

Germany also scored third for alcohol consumption, behind Czechia and Luxembourg, with the average resident consuming 3.5 units per day. 

It scored fourth for excess sugar consumption, while only 10% of residents consume at least five portions of fruit and vegetables per day.

Turkey

Turkey scored particularly poorly when it came to fruit and vegetable consumption, with only 2.8% of its residents eating five or more portions per day.

Elsewhere, 40% of people in the country fell into ‘overweight’ or ‘obese’ BMI categories, while 8% were classed as ‘underweight’.

Eating healthily was also less affordable in Turkey than any other country we considered, with 6% of the population priced out of a healthy diet.

Austria

Coming in at number three was Austria, which had the highest daily fat intake of the countries we analysed, at around 186 grams per person per day – more than six times the NHS-recommended amount

Only 5.6% of the Austrian population reportedly eat five or more portions of fruit and vegetables each day, while the average resident consumes 3,695 calories per day – 1,445 calories over the 2,250 recommended by the NHS.

Poland

Poland fell squarely in the middle for several of the criteria in our study, but the nation’s sugar consumption propelled it into fourth place.

The average person in Poland consumes about 45 grams of sugar each day, second only to Belgium, which fared better in other categories.

Ireland

Ireland topped the tables when it came to calorie intake, with the average resident consuming 3,885 calories per day (1,635 calories above the daily recommendation).

Ireland also has the second highest rate of ‘obese’ and ‘overweight’ individuals, according to BMI measures, with 61% of the population falling into one of these categories.

The nation came third overall for alcohol consumption, with individuals drinking, on average, 3.2 units per day. 

European countries with the healthiest diets

Here’s a run-down of the 20 European countries with the healthiest diets, according to our metrics.

This section outlines the overall lowest scores based on the data collected for each country. It will include a brief section in each country within the top 5, as well as the main factors behind their score being so low.

Netherlands

With an Unhealthy Diet Score of just 8.7, the Netherlands is home to the healthiest diets in Europe, according to our metrics.

Almost 30% of the population consumes five or more portions of fruit and vegetables per day – the highest rate we found. 

The nation also scored better than average in other categories, with just under 15% of the population being ‘overweight’ or ‘obese’. Elsewhere, the vast majority of residents can afford a healthy diet, with just 0.1% of the population being priced out. 

Norway

This Scandinavian nation drinks less alcohol per capita than any other country in the index, with the average person consuming two units per day.

Elsewhere, only 14% of Norwegians are classed as ‘overweight’ or ‘obese’ based on their BMI – the lowest rate in our index.

Norway is also one of the 11 countries in the index where residents consume less than the daily recommended intake of sugar (30 grams), at 25 grams per day.

Slovenia

People who live in this Balkan country consume 114.42 grams of fat per day, on average. While this does exceed NHS recommendations, Slovenia consumes less dietary fat than any other country in the index. 

The nation has also managed to sidestep the issue of affordability, with 0% of the population reportedly priced out of eating a healthy diet.

When it comes to caloric intake, Slovenia has the fifth lowest variance from NHS recommendations, with people consuming 3,191 calories per day on average.

Luxembourg

Luxembourg consumes less sugar than any other country we considered, with the average resident eating 19.25 grams per day. 

Maintaining a healthy diet in the country costs just $2.59 (£2.11) per day, and 0% of Luxembourgians are reported to be unable to afford a healthy diet.

Finland

Finland is another country reporting that no resident is unable to afford a healthy diet, helping propel it to fifth place in our ranking of European countries with the healthiest diets.

Elsewhere, Finland sits in the middle of the pack, with the 10th lowest fat and calorie intakes, while 13.5% of the population are reported to consume at least five portions of fruit and vegetables per day.

How diet impacts life insurance

Despite its reputation for devouring fry-ups, the UK scored just 12.7 in our unhealthy eating index, snagging eighth place for the healthiest diets in Europe, and a creditable 20th place on the unhealthy diet list.

While life insurance providers don’t consider individual diets when setting their prices, the impact on your health of what you eat and drink can have a knock-on effect in a few ways.

Height and weight

An insurer won’t ask how much fat or sugar you consume on a daily basis, but these factors can play a role in determining your body weight – and this could affect your premium.

When you apply for a life insurance policy, your provider may ask you for height and weight measurements so it can work out your BMI. If you are placed in the ‘overweight’ category or higher, your premium could be impacted. 

In rare cases, an insurer may decline to cover someone altogether because of their BMI.

In the UK, 63.5% of the population are classified as ‘overweight’ or ‘obese’.

Alcohol consumption

Alcohol consumption can also affect an individual’s life insurance policy. 

If you typically consume more than 14 units of alcohol per week (about six pints of beer), the NHS-recommended limit, it could also affect your premium. 

In the UK, individuals consume 3.1 units per day on average. Over the course of a week, this amounts to a little over 21 units – seven units higher than the NHS-recommended limit. 

Current and pre-existing health conditions

Health conditions such as heart disease and diabetes, which can be directly influenced by diet, can also affect your life insurance policy.

If you have, or have recovered from, a serious illness, you may need to seek out a specialist life insurance policy.

Other considerations

Life insurers will also ask whether you smoke or vape, or have done so in the past 12 months. The health impacts of your occupation will be taken into account, too. 

While it might be tempting to stretch the truth about your medical history and lifestyle in a bid to attain a lower premium, in the long run it’s better to be truthful. 

If your insurer finds out you omitted key information, any claims made on the policy could be rejected, leaving your beneficiaries without the expected proceeds.

Methodology

Forbes Advisor gathered data on 27 European countries, to find out which had the most and least healthy diets, as determined by the following factors:

• percentage of the population consuming five or more portions of fruit and vegetables a day
• percentage of the population that is considered overweight
• percentage of the population that is considered underweight
• cost of a healthy diet in US dollars per day according to the UN
• percentage of the population that can afford a healthy diet relative to each country’s cost of living
• daily calorie intake and variance from the NHS daily recommendation (2,250 kcal)
• fat consumption and variance from the daily recommendation (30g)
• sugar consumption and variance from the daily recommendation (30g)
• average daily alcohol unit consumption.

The countries were given a rank between one and 27 in each category, with higher rankings being less healthy. 

For example, the country with the highest daily alcohol unit consumption would be ranked 27 for that category.

A weighted average of these rankings was used to calculate each country’s Unhealthy Diet Score, with a higher number again indicating a less healthy diet.

Sources

• Percentage of the population consuming 5 or more portions of fruits and vegetables a day:

• Percentage of the population that is overweight or underweight
• The cost of a healthy diet in dollars per day and percentage of the population that can afford it
• Daily calorie intake and variance from the daily recommendation
• Fat consumption and variance from the daily recommendation
• Sugar consumption and variance from the daily recommendation
• Alcohol consumption per person