A stealth health approach to dietary fibre

Average dietary fibre intakes have increased little in the past twenty years in many countries, including the USA1. Multi-million-dollar campaigns promoting fruits, vegetables, whole grains and other foods high in fibre have delivered only small changes in diets2, and consumers have not changed from traditional staples to whole-grain options3. UK millers report that consumption of whole-wheat bread has actually declined over the past decade (P. Shewry, personal communication). In the US, white flour, which is lower in fibre than whole-wheat flour, accounts for nearly 40% of the fibre intake4. We believe that as motivating consumers to change food choices has proven difficult, changing food itself — a so-called stealth health approach — could be a useful strategy to increase fibre in the foods people choose to eat.