Healthy food prices rocketing at twice the rate of less healthy items, study finds
A new study has revealed that healthier food options in the UK have become more expensive at double the rate of less healthy alternatives over the past two years.
The Food Foundation’s annual Broken Plate report indicates that food with lower fat, salt and sugar content is now over twice as costly per calorie compared to less healthy products. The research found that the poorest fifth of the population would need to allocate 45% of their disposable income towards food to afford a diet that aligns with government health recommendations. This figure rises to 70% for households with children.
Although this overall percentage has decreased from the height of the cost-of-living crisis in 2021-2022 – when the most deprived fifth had to spend 50% to maintain a healthy diet – it remains higher than the previous year's figure of 43%. The study also discovered that over a third (37%) of supermarket promotions on food and non-alcoholic beverages are for unhealthy items.
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Additionally, a quarter (26%) of food outlets in England are fast-food establishments, a figure that increases to nearly one in three in the most deprived areas. Furthermore, over a third (36%) of advertising expenditure for food and soft drinks is dedicated to confectionery, snacks, desserts and soft drinks, while only 2% is spent promoting fruit and vegetables.
Children from all economic backgrounds are consuming far more unhealthy food than is advocated for maintaining good health, with those from the poorest fifth of society nearly double as likely to suffer from obesity by their first year at school compared to their more affluent peers. Even more starkly, those in the most deprived fifth were almost thrice as susceptible to type 2 diabetes-related lower-limb amputations as their counterparts in the wealthiest fifth in 2022.
When assessing children in their final year of primary school within the most deprived areas, over twice as many had suffered from tooth decay in their adult teeth (23%) than those living in the least deprived neighbourhoods (10%).
Anna Taylor, executive director of the Food Foundation, said: “The Broken Plate report sadly shows that our food system is failing to provide large swathes of the population with the basic nutrition needed for them to stay healthy and thrive. There is a tragic imbalance in the UK between the food that is marketed, available and affordable, and foods that are healthy and sustainable. Often it is the most vulnerable children in our society who suffer the worst consequences of this.
“Not only can lack of nutrition lead to serious health conditions, it can also lead to children being unable to concentrate in school and have lasting negative impact on mental health, entrenching inequalities from a young age.
“The Government has recently announced that it has started working on a National Food Strategy. We hope that this will be seized as an opportunity to tackle these inequalities through cross departmental working, with acknowledgment that key changes to the food system can help to achieve Labour’s missions, from economic growth, to breaking down barriers to opportunity to relieving pressure on the NHS.”
Henry Dimbleby, the former government food tsar and author of the last National Food Strategy, said: “This report couldn’t come at a more critical moment. As the government rolls out its new food strategy, addressing the incentives that drive the sale and aggressive marketing of unhealthy foods must be a top priority.
“The human and economic toll is too great to ignore any longer.”
The government has kick-started an endeavour to hone its approach to the nation's diet, announcing the initiation of a National Food Strategy. Advocates clamour for this project to address deep-seated disparities through concerted efforts across departments.
The goals are ambitious, tying in Labour’s visions of economic growth and accessibility to opportunities while lessening the burden on the NHS. Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs, Daniel Zeichner, said: "The Food Foundation’s Broken Plate report highlights important issues with the UK’s food system, with unhealthy diets driving obesity levels. That is why we will introduce a cross-Government food strategy to ensure our food system can continue to feed the nation, realise its potential for economic growth, protect the planet, and nourish individuals."
"We cannot do this alone, which is why we are working with those across the food sector, utilising their expertise, to transform the industry for good."