'Satfataday' binges could do serious damage to your health

London, June 28 : People savouring fry-ups as weekend breakfast are actually damaging their health, warns an expert.

The survey involving 25,000 people showed that all people are stuffing far too much saturated fat in free time.

Though the recommended daily limit is 30g and 20g for women, but the consumption of saturated fat could increase to 61g for men and 33g for women on weekend days, thus increasing the risk of developing heart disease.

"The survey results suggest a serious lack of awareness among the public about how much saturated fat they consume daily and a lack of knowledge concerning the need to reduce their overall consumption," the Daily Express quoted dietician Sian Porter, as saying.

"The statistics are, at best, conservative, so the real picture of the 'Satfataday' binge could be worse," she added.

According to market researchers TNS, an average 40-year-old man can stuff himself with 61g of saturated fat on a weekend day. And the diet could include buttered toast (11.6g), a cheese sandwich (11g), sausage roll (11g), pizza (18g) with chips (15g), chocolate (9.8g), crisps (2.6g) and a cup of full-fat milky coffee (2.6g). On the other hand, an average woman of the same age eats more than 30g of saturated fat on a weekend day - 50 per cent more than guidelines advise. The diet includes croissant (11.7g), buttered toast and jam (11.6g), beans on buttered toast (11.6g), pizza (18g), chips (15g), ice cream (5.7g) and cake (9.8g).

"These results further reinforce the need, which has been recognised by the Government, to educate consumers on the importance of eating a diet lower in saturated fats.

"Many people try to eat healthily during but tend to relax at weekends nutritionally. For our health, we should know when to stop," she added.

ANI