The line graph illustrates the amount of three types of spreads including margarine, low fat and reduced spreads and butter consumed between 1981 and 2007, measured in grams.
Overall, the consumption of both butter and margarine declined over the period, while low fat and reduced spreads showed an upward trend after being introduced in the 2001s.
In 1981, butter was the most widely used spread at around 140 grams, and rose to about 160 grams in 1986 before dropping sharply to just over 50 grams in 2007. Margarine started at about 90 grams, fell slightly in 1986, then increased to 100 grams in 1991 and remained stable the same grams in 1996 before steadily decreasing to around 40 grams in 2007.
Low fat and reduced spreads appeared in 1996, with consumption rising rapidly to reach a peak of 80 grams in 2001 before declining slightly to about 70 grams in 2007.
