Brit Families Cut Down on Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Due to Soaring Prices

Recession and escalating prices of food stuff has caused people in Britain to reduce their intake of fresh fruits and vegetables and opt for less healthy options, a recent study that looked at 15000 households has revealed.

The price of fruit has gone up by 34% since 2007. The study found that single parent households experienced a marked reduction in the nutritional quality of their diet.

Pensioners began to choose fatty foods while households with children opted for sugary products. Opting for less healthy processed food is a big cause of worry.

"Over the recession households have responded to higher food prices and the squeezes on their incomes by switching to cheaper calories. This has coincided with a fall in the nutritional quality of foods purchased, with moves away from fresh fruit and vegetables and towards processed foods. As a result, the average saturated fat and sugar content of food purchases has increased over this period," the report author said.

Children's Food Trust chief executive Linda Cregan said: "Feeding children well is absolutely crucial for their future health - these figures are an indication of just how tough this has become for many families in recent years. Some of the trends in this report are a huge worry - we need to see the foods children eat containing less saturated fat, salt and sugar, not more."



Source: Medindia