City study on unhealthy diets among low-income families

23.08.2022 12:13

Low-income parents are buying unhealthy foods for their families to compensate for non-food social well-being activities they can't afford, according to a new study.

The study of Center for Food Policy at City University of London highlights the buying habits of low-income parents in England. The researchers examined how these families' eating habits are influenced by their "food environment," that is, the places to buy and eat food outside the home, as well as the advertising and offers they encounter, but also the broader ones socioeconomic factors in their lives that may influence their decision making.

The results support the well-known view that a food environment in which unhealthy foods are ubiquitous, cheap, and heavily marketed encourages parents to feed their families with them. But they also suggest that parents who cannot afford social activities with their children, such as For example, visiting a “soft play” center or vacation, even a short distance away, are further driven to compensate with “treats” for the family that take the form of unhealthy eating.

Examples of such routines identified in the study include family visits to fast food outlets such as the local chippy (fish and chip shop), kebab shop or (the well-known) burger restaurant, or even food-related ones Events at home, such as B. Family snacks before a movie or a board game.

The study involved 60 low-income parents, recruited equally from disadvantaged neighborhoods in three regions of England: Great Yarmouth, Stoke-on-Trent and the London Borough of Lewisham. The participants were over 18 years old, parents of a school-age child and the main shopper in the family. Fifty-six participants were female, reflecting the highly gendered nature of nutrition work.

All participants took part in semi-structured interviews related to family food purchasing, preparation and consumption practices, as well as the role of different family members, including children, in implementing these practices. Fifty-eight participants took part in a week-long photo survey in which they took photos of things that made it difficult or easier for them to buy the food they wanted for their families. 22 participants also took part in a “shopping interview” where they led the interviewer through the stores of their choice and told him what they were buying.

Data from these sources were coded in a “thematic analysis” to identify key themes that enabled interpretation of the results:

• Low-income families use many tools to navigate the food world and feed their families within their budget.

• a food environment that pushes families towards unhealthy foods also promotes other aspects of well-being.

• Food practices shape the way families interact with food.

• Food environment policies must also address the broader aspects of people's lives.