She was the party-girl DJ who tore up nightclub dancefloors and dominated red-top gossip columns before the likes of Miley Cyrus and Lindsay Lohan were out of nappies.
But these days, Sara Cox is not only on a personal health kick, but is attempting to kickstart the nation’s healthy eating habits by extolling the virtues ofberries. The industry association British Summer Fruits (BSF) has launched its Snack Smart campaign to position berries as a healthy and convenient alternative to confectionery snacks.
The campaign follows on from recent in-depth research conducted with Loughborough University. This revealed that if consumers swapped a snack consisting of a few sweets for a handful of berries with the same calorie content, they would go on to consume 134 fewer calories at their next meal. This one change in habit, the researchers found, means that people could lose around a pound of body weight per month, or up to a stone in a year.
The Snack Smart challenge, fronted by Cox, who is now a DJ on BBC Radio 2, and supported by a partnership with Tesco, has been developed to target those defined as health-aware consumers. The multi-faceted campaign, which has been timed to coincide with New Year and pre-summer dieting crazes, is being promoted through the usual PR channels to gain maximum exposure.
BSF chairman Laurence Olins said: “An increasing number of consumers are prioritising their health and wellbeing, so are looking for natural snacks. We’re confident that the Snack Smart challenge will continue to gain popularity, giving retailers the opportunity to cash in on the campaign’s success.”
Speaking about the research, Dr Lewis James of Loughborough University said: “There are a number of potential health benefits of consuming berries, but this is the first time that consuming them as a snack has been shown to reduce how much people eat during the next meal of the day.
The cumulative effect could help people lose extra pounds without having to make an effort, or even noticing.”
He added thatcurrentdata suggests that only about 30 per cent of British adults are meeting the Department of Health recommendations to consume at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day. The research also comes not long after a separate study revealed that most people who make a New Year’s resolution to eat more healthily fall off the diet wagon by the middle of February.
Olins added: “Most of us have tried to lose weight by following the next diet craze, but they often demand huge sacrifices. This study shows that by giving up just one snack and replacing it with a handful of delicious berries, we could shed up to a stone in a year.
“I would challenge anyone to give it a try and see how they feel in a month’s time. We’re not promising miracles, but I’m sure you’ll be surprised by the results.”
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