This article is 6 years old. Click here to view the latest articles for this topic.

... live in households for whom a healthy diet is increasingly unaffordable

Comparing the estimated cost of Public Health England's (PHE) 'Eatwell Guide' with household income, shows that the bottom 20% of families would have to spend 42% of their after–housing income on food to eat the Government's recommended diet.
This is nearly four times what the richest 20% of UK families would need to spend on food to meet PHE's Eatwell Guide.
3.7 million children in the UK are living in these households, earning less than £15,860, and are likely to be unable to afford a healthy diet as defined by the Government.
14 million households (half of all households in the UK) currently don't spend enough to meet the cost of Government's recommended the Eatwell Guide.
Widening inequality is leading to higher rates of childhood obesity in deprived areas with 26% of children in Year 6 being obese compared to 11% in England's richest communities.
Findings strengthen calls for a national measurement of ...

3.7 million children in the UK ...