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Poor eating much healthier than the rest of the populace, says survey

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Hunger is something, no one control, thus it makes food a basic necessity for life. Hunger doesn’t discriminate anyone on any basis. But usually we are under the notion that people who has low incomes; low standards of living have a poor diet too. When we read the factors that cause various diseases, we often find poor standard of living contributing to malnutrition further contributing to diseases. But a recent government report denounces this. It says that people who have low incomes have similar diets as to the rest of the population.

The Food Standards Agency pointed out that most of the population didn’t consume healthy food irrespective of their living standards. As per the agency, the richness of the food doesn’t depend on the incomes but are subjected to the ways of cooking and the skills. It is true that various constraints are faced by the poor and those who come under the lower middle class section regarding food and diet. But we can’t ignore the fact that most of the rich class eats the unhealthiest food as they are usually on junk food. Poor diets can not only contribute to chronic diseases and malnutrition but also to obesity. A survey done by the agency revealed the fact that out of 3,500 people who had low incomes, were eating the same kind of food (neither unhealthy, nor healthy) as the rest of the population.

The head of nutrition at the FSA, Rosemary Hignett 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. Small changes to diet can make a big difference to health so we urge everyone to think about the food that they and their family are eating.

Changing lifestyle has had a deep impact on our food habits too. Around 91% of women and 64% of men admitted that they can cook from the basic items available at home. 80% agreed that they shop from supermarkets and had both cooking and storage provisions at home. The poorest of the population basically lacked in areas like fruits, vegetables and sugar. In this section of population, obesity was seen on a rise also. 63% of women, 62% of men, 35% of boys and 34% of girls were found to be suffering from obesity. Also, the section witnessed a rise in alcohol consumption and smoking but a decrease in activity.

The conclusion of the reports are rather contradictory then what the experts presumed. Firstly, the gap between the diets of the two sections are not that wide. Secondly, it is quite intriguing to know that people in the lower income bracket are eating much healthier food then the rest of the population, which makes the situation quite concerning.

Source: BBC

Image Credit: Diabetes

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