Gut health is at the forefront of conversations around wellness but is often misunderstood or ignored by consumers, with new research from Activia revealing that almost two thirds of Brits (62 per cent) admit they don’t even think about their gut health.
To help people track and understand their gut health, Activia has created the Gut Health Tracker. The free tool on Activia’s website calculates a personalised gut health score based on the primary lifestyle factors that influence your gut health including diet, activity, sleep and stress and to help take control of your wellness journey by providing tips and educating on how to improve your digestive wellbeing.
New research from Activia to launch the Gut Health Tracker, has uncovered a surprising truth: despite spending an average of £23.50 per month on gut health – from supplements to exercise – the UK’s average gut health score is just 38 out of 100.
Younger generations are investing the most, with Gen Z spending £36.90 a month, rising to £41.50 for millennials, potentially due to the rise of #guthealth on TikTok. But this drops sharply for Gen X and older, who spend just £11.20 who might not be on #guttok.
Despite this investment, 46 per cent of Brits suffer from bloating, constipation, or abdominal pain at least once a month – a figure that jumps to 56 per cent of Gen Z and 54 per cent of millennials, compared to just 37 per cent of those over 44.
Beyond these common symptoms, gut health plays a critical role in our overall wellbeing, influencing everything from your immune system and nutrient absorption to your sleep, mental health, energy levels, and even skin condition. Therefore, with 44 per cent of adults admitting they feel stressed on a weekly basis this reiterates the need to proactively support your gut consistently to help manage these stress levels.
Interestingly, our job type appears to have little impact on gut health score, with sedentary workers averaging 36.9 per cent compared to just a slight increase of 37.8 per cent for those who have more active jobs.
The Activia Gut Health Tracker helps people understand and support their gut health by assessing key lifestyle factors:
- Diet: 34 per cent of Brits never eat fermented foods such as kefir, kimchi, and kombucha, despite growing evidence of their gut health benefits.. However, 54 per cent of Gen Z consume them weekly, making them the most gut-conscious generation. Meanwhile, a colourful diet that is rich in varied fruits and vegetables becomes more common with age, with 67 per cent of Gen Z prioritising this compared to 74 per cent of millennials and 78 per cent of Gen X and above.
- Sleep: The UK is sleep-deprived, with the average adult getting just 6 hours and 42 minutes per night, less than the expert-recommend seven to nine hours. Alarmingly, 39 per cent of people report getting six hours or less, with women taking longer to fall asleep (26 minutes) than men (23 minutes).
- Activity: Half of UK adults exercise weekly, yet sedentary lifestyles dominate, with Brits sitting still for an average of five hours a day, rising to 6.2 hours for those in sedentary jobs.
- Stress: Millennials rank as the most stressed generation, with 80 per cent reporting that they feel stressed at least once a month, followed closely by Gen Z (75 per cent). In contrast, only 54 per cent of over-60s experience stress as frequently.
Despite gut health being fundamental to overall well-being, Brits are twice as likely to think about their physical health (60 per cent) than their gut health (31 per cent) in comparison. However, with 61 per cent agreeing that spring and summer are the best times to make lifestyle changes, now is the perfect moment to take action and make a change!
To help people support their gut health and overall wellbeing, Lisa and Alana Macfarlane from The Gut Stuff have shared their expert tips ahead of the launch of Season Two of their podcast Chattin’ Sh*t, sponsored by Activia. Their advice includes:
- Incorporating more fermented foods like yogurt, kefir, and kimchi into your diet.
- Increasing your fibre intake to 30g a day by eating foods that are rich in fibre like lentils, chickpeas and raspberries
- Eating the rainbow with diverse, colourful fruits and vegetables help increase the amount of diversity of nutrients, which in turn can help increase the diversity of the gut microbiome.
- Prioritising sleep and managing stress to support a healthy gut-brain connection.
- Moving more and sitting less to help maintain a healthy gut.
“As our research shows, people are investing heavily in their gut health but aren’t always seeing results,” said Rachel Wright, Head of Marketing at Activia. “That’s why we’ve launched the Activia Gut Health Tracker to give people a tangible way to measure, understand, and support their gut health. We’re on a mission to make gut health simple, accessible, and actionable for everyone. With small, sustainable lifestyle changes, people can use the Gut Health Tracker to see the positive impact on their gut wellbeing over time.”
Lisa and Alana Macfarlane, Co-Founders of The Gut Stuff, added: “We’ve been on this journey nearly a decade now and we feel really passionate that even though the science can be complex, gut health shouldn’t be complicated or confusing, yet so many people struggle to know where to start. That’s why tools like the Activia Gut Health Tracker are useful as they help break down the science into something tangible and give people a couple of minutes to turn in and really think about where they’re at! Small, everyday changes like upping your fibre, eating more diverse plant-based foods, managing stress, and prioritising sleep can have a massive impact on your gut health and overall well-being. It doesn't have to be standing on your head drinking green smoothies.”
To try the Gut Health Tracker and calculate your score for free, go to: https://www.danoneactivia.co.uk/gut-health-tracker/
