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Low income people 'chose to eat badly'Date: 16/07/2007 08:55:02
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The diet of people on low incomes is similar to that of the general population, a study has found.
According to a report by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), there is no direct link between a person's income, their access to supermarkets, and the food they have on their plates.
The news has been welcomed as many dieticians had expected to see a distinction between the eating habits of those on lower incomes and the diets of wealthier demographic groups.
The research was carried out as part of the Low Income Nutrition and Diet Survey which questioned over 3,700 people.
It found that it was individual choice not bank balance that was a contributory factor to the types of food people ate.
Although levels of obesity among the respondents were high, 62 per cent of men and 63 per cent of women were overweight or obese, this was no different to the general population.
Rosemary Hignett, head of nutrition at the FSA, said: "The encouraging news from this research is that the gap between the diets of people on low incomes and those of the rest of the population is not as big as some feared.
"It is also positive that most people in this group say they feel confident about their cooking skills, have reasonable kitchen facilities and access to large supermarkets.
"However, the bad news is that this group - like the general population - are not eating as healthily as they could be," she added.
Low levels of exercise were also found to be a factor in the obesity levels of low income groups.
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