Poorest fifth of UK would need to spend 45% of disposable income to afford healthy diet
Poorest fifth of UK would need to spend 45% of disposable income to afford healthy diet
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The poorest fifth of the UK would need to spend almost half their disposable income on food to achieve the government's recommended healthy diet, a new report has found. It comes alongside a warning that healthier food is getting more expensive at twice the rate of less healthy options, with food that is lower in fat, salt and sugar now twice as expensive per calorie as its less nutritious counterparts.
It means the most deprived fifth of the population would need to spend 45% of their disposable income on food to achieve a government-recommended healthy diet. This rose to 70% of disposable income for those in households with children. This figure has fallen from the peak seen during the cost of living crisis, in 2021 to 2022, when the most deprived fifth needed to spend 50% of their disposable income to achieve a healthy diet - but it remains higher than 2020 to 2021's figure of 43%.
The Broken Plate report also found more than a third (37%) of supermarket promotions on food and non-alcoholic drinks were for unhealthy items. As for advertising, more than a third (36%) of ads were for confectionary, snacks, desserts and soft drinks, compared to just 2% for fruit and vegetables.
Fast food and tooth decay. The study revealed more than a quarter (26%) of places to buy food England are fast food outlets - and in the most deprived areas, it's nearly one in three. Deprived groups were much more likely to be affected by type 2 diabetes, with those in the most deprived fifth of the population almost three times as likely to experience a lower limb amputation than the least deprived in 2022.
