For years experts have argued that poor households are consuming less
nourishing food than the rest of the population.
But a survey of some of the lowest earners in Britain shows the
nutritional value of what they
eat is little different to everyone else.
In fact, the same deficiencies in diet were shared by all the
population and the findings suggest that poor eating choices are far more
widespread than previously suspected - affecting many wealthier families.
These included low fruit and vegetable consumption, not eating enough
oily fish and eating too much saturated fat and sugar.
'This is a large and significant study and it shows we are all eating
just as bad a diet as each other,' said Tim Lang, professor of food policy
at City University.
The poorest families were eating only slightly more sugar and slightly
less fruit and vegetables, according to the study of 3,728 respondents in
the bottom of the population.
Alison Tedstone, head of nutritional science at the Food Standard
Agency, said: 'Overall, people on low incomes have less than ideal diets,
but their diets are only slightly worse than those of the rest of the
population.'
The study also showed that low earners are choosing to
eat unhealthily. Their food choices were not linked to their income, their
access to shops or their cooking skills.
The findings appear to contradict assumptions that the poor cannot
afford healthier foods or are too far away from shops that sell them.
The Low Income Nutrition and Diet Survey showed that like the rest of
the population, the poor's daily fruit and vegetable intake on average is
below the recommended five portions. Fewer than 10 per cent of respondents
hit this target, while around 20 per cent ate less than a portion per day.
More than three quarters (76 per cent) of men and 81 per cent of women
did less than one 30-minute session of moderate or vigorous exercise per
week.
Some 45 per cent of men and 40 per cent of women were smokers.
This compares with 28 per cent of men and 24 per cent of women in the
general population.
(Daily
Mail)
