Food and nutrition.pdf

Chapter 15People living on low IncomeThe gap between the diets of people on low incomes and those of therest of the population is not as wide as some fearedThe dietary pattern of people on low incomes is the same as that ofthe general population, although in some aspects it is slightly less healthy.Before this survey, there had been some concerns that the diets of thispopulation group were extremely poor and that factors such as restrictedaccess to choice and a lack of confidence in cooking skills were preventingpeople from eating healthily. However, the Food Standards Agency studydid not identify any direct link between dietary patterns and income, foodaccess or cooking skills. The diet-related problems found to affect peopleon low incomes are in general much the same as those facing thepopulation as a whole, including:• Not eating enough fruit and vegetables• Not eating enough oily fish• Consumption of too much saturated fat and sugarLevels of obesity were also found to be very high - 62% of men, 63%of women, 35% of boys and 34% of girls were overweight or obese, whichmirrors the high levels within the general UK population. Thecomprehensive survey, involving more than 3,500 people and carried outover 15 months, looked at the dietary habits and nutritional status of thelow income population.It was commissioned by the Food Standards Agency to further informits and other Government departments' work in the area of diet andnutrition among low income groups.Food Standards Agency Head of Nutrition Rosemary Hignett said:'The encouraging news from this research is that the gap between the dietsof people on low incomes and those of the rest of the population is not asbig as some feared.'It is also positive that most people in this group are confident abouttheir cooking skills, have reasonable kitchen facilities and access to largesupermarkets. 'However, the bad news is that this group -like the generalpopulation .- are not eating as healthily as they could be. Poor diets can