Globally, consumers buy 1.5 trillion calories a day, with the average global consumer purchasing 765 calories each day through packaged food and soft drinks, according to new findings from market research company Euromonitor International.
While this might seem low, given the recommended intake is around 2000 for an adult, Euromonitor said the figure was a global average, and that regional figures were more telling. Countries in North America and Western Europe purchase over 1500 calories, with India at 150 calories per day and China at 510, respectively.
The findings, available in Euromonitor’s Passport: Nutrition database, tracked energy, fat, saturated fat, carbohydrates, sugar, salt, protein and fibre in 54 countries globally.
“Despite over 40 per cent of the global population being overweight and obese, our nutrition data shows that by 2019 the world will purchase 90 calories more a day,” said Lauren Bandy, Nutrition Analyst at Euromonitor International. “This analysis helps address rising concerns surrounding nutritional value in food while building a picture of what people eat in different countries,” she said.
Australian calorie count
In Australia in 2014, consumers purchased 1,459 calories per day per person. Euromonitor said its findings showed that Australian consumers’ daily purchases included 61 g fat, 42g protein, 27g saturated fat, 183g carbohydrates, 14g fibre, 96g sugar, and 4g salt.
Calories by country
Mexico bought the most calories a day with 1,928 calories per person, which was 380 calories more than the US. Euromonitor said the additional 380 calories was the equivalent of an extra slice of pizza per person every day in Mexico.
Germany bought nearly twice as much fat per capita per day than Japan, and France purchased more calories from bread each day than India did from packaged food and soft drinks combined.
“Understanding how packaged food and soft drink brands contribute to the total purchase of nutrients by category and country helps address the rising concern of nutritional value in food,” Ms Bandy said.
Euromonitor said its new database, The Passport: Nutrition, depicts a brand’s contribution to the purchase of nutritional content around the world, identifying the contents of the world’s diet and the impact each nutrient, such as salt, has on diets. The data allows companies and governments to understand consumers taste and food preferences around the world, according to Euromonitor.
