GlutenFree Facts & Stats

If you’re Coeliac or if one of your members is Coeliac, or you service the needs of gluten allergen sufferers this blog will give you a little more knowledge about how and where it affects people the most.  I also highlight some of the reasons gluten-free foods are becoming so widespread and so popular.

Demographics

Coeliac Disease affects people across the globe.  The data clearly demonstrates that Coeliac disease is growing in populations of the world and this maybe due to improved diagnosis technology as well as better awareness of the disease.

An interesting study “The pooled global prevalence of celiac disease was found to be 1.4% based on positive serology, and .7% based on positive biopsy. It was also found that the prevalence of biopsy-confirmed celiac disease increased over time from 0.6 % between 1991 and 2000, to 0.8% between 2001 and 2016.”

We’ve taken a look at Coeliac Demographics are in Western Countries.

• 1/100 in the UK
• 1/300 in Ireland
• 1/250 in Italy
• 1/133 in the US

• 1% of the population in the UK is coeliac
• 24% with coeliac disease are actually diagnosed
• Largest proportion of coeliacs in the UK is found at the ages of 8-12 months, 40-60 years old.
  It is twice as likely to occur in women as in men.
• 10 times more likely to have coeliac disease if an immediate member of your family is coeliac.

There’s a big question to ask:  Why are people buying Gluten-Free Food

In the UK,  it’s believed that the expansion of gluten-free food is due to people who chose to avoid eating gluten for health reasons, not because they actually are gluten intolerants. For most people, it is more of a trend than an actual need for allergic reasons.

Trends in Gluten-Free food

• There is a lack of innovation and quality in most of gluten-free products, and not that much of a choice; more than half of coeliacs (57%) have tried at least ten new gluten-free products in the last year.
• Exclusion diets are reported as trendy this year by IFT, such as alternative flours and free from food, which coincide with the gluten-free trend.
• 80% of gluten-free products are now sold in supermarkets and not only in healthy food stores.
• Gluten-free beer
• The number of people looking for gluten-free bread has doubled
• Free from market has climbed by 50% last year