Cereals, roots and pulses remain at the top of the world’s dietary choices. However, obesity rates are increasing and 45.9% of the food purchased in Irish households is ‘ultra-processed’.

Futurist Rudy de Waele spoke at R&H Hall’s annual conference this week and, aside from giving a great insight into the future of technology and the working environment – which you can read more about next week on AgriLand – he presented some startling facts on consumer trends.

While cereal, roots and pulses remain the largest food group by far, sugar, meat and dairy are all increasing steadily as a proportion of the world’s diet. The use of vegetable oils is also set to increase significantly in the future.

A large proportion of food consumed is now processed. Ultra-processed food takes up at least 40% of most northern European countries’ diets. This differs in Mediterranean countries where this figure is 20% or less.

The increase in sugar consumption and processed foods has no doubt contributed to the rise in obesity.

“In the US, one in two adults are obese; one in three children are obese,” Rudy explained.

In the early 1970s, just under 15% of the US population was obese; that figure is expected to hit between 45% and 50% by 2030. Less than 15% of the UK’s population was obese in the 1990s; this is predicted to rise to 35% by 2030.