Pathways of less healthy diets. An investigation of the everyday food practices of men and women in low income households

The impact of the cost of living crisis and food insecurity on food purchasing behaviours and food preparation practices in people living with obesity

“…Our study showed a positive association between food insecurity and use of budgeting, which aligns with previous research and suggests that individuals facing food insecurity use budgeting techniques to stretch limited financial resources (Conklin et al, 2013;Laraia et al, 2017;Nieves et al, 2022;van der Velde et al, 2022). As food is seen as flexible within budgets (Ditlevsen et al, 2023;Lindow et al, 2022;Puddephatt et al, 2020), food budgets often suffer cutbacks to account for other, more pressing expenses (e.g., increased housing or energy costs). Indeed, we showed that participants reported that they reduced the quantity (35.2% of survey participants), quality (42.7% of survey participants), and healthiness of food (29.2% of survey participants) to afford rising energy bills (Table S4).…”

“…Given the challenges posed by the cost of living crisis, households with low-incomes have responded by using 'coping strategies' to mitigate experiences of food insecurity, specifically, the ways in which households purchase and prepare food (Douglas, 2023;Eicher-Miller et al, 2023;Johnstone & Lonnie, 2023). In relation to food purchasing behaviours, Ditlevsen et al (2023) reported that households with low-incomes often engage in bulk purchasing to benefit from bulk-buy discounting, and Adams (2023) reported that women experiencing food insecurity made use of 'bargain bins' and coupons to maximize their purchasing power. However, in the UK, the food that is on promotion has recently been flagged for its tendency to be high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS), which has been found to contribute to excess food intake (Watt et al, 2023).…”

“…However, given the higher cost of healthier food (relative to less healthy food), the 'healthiness' of food may be deprioritised (Puddephatt et al, 2020;Robinson et al, 2022). In relation to food preparation practices, households with low-incomes typically use batch cooking (Williams & Dienes, 2022), meal planning (Power et al, 2018), pad out meals with starchy foods (Ditlevsen et al, 2023), and use energy-saving appliances such as air fryers (Nayak & Hartwell, 2023). Taken together, although the aforementioned purchasing and food preparation practices are highly adaptive and likely to be beneficial in the immediate (i.e., to escape hunger when living with a low income), prolonged use of these strategies may negatively impact health in relation to diet quality and variety (Seligman & Berkowitz, 2019;Tarasuk, 2001).…”

What qualitative research can tell us about food and nutrition security in the UK and why we should pay attention to what it is telling us

“…Thirdly, people living on low incomes have demonstrate considerable capability and resilience around food procurement and management practices, by stretching out food resources to make them last (49,52,(59)(60)(61)(62)(63)(64) . As academic researchers, it is humbling to hear, through our work, not only of the desperate circumstances that force some people to step of over the door of a food bank, but also their extreme gratitude and reluctance to criticise or complain about the food they receive (65,66) .…”

“…Fourthly, living with food insecurity is not only about having sufficient food in the immediate future, but is also the experience of living with the uncertainty and anxiety about where, when and what food resources will be available to you and the household in the future (62,68) . It is the anticipation of food scarcity that leads to what are variously described as 'mal-adaptive behavioural responses', or 'poor lifestyle choices', something that I think is better described as 'day-to-day food coping or management strategies' which are the very ones that are playing a significant role in fuelling future ill health (62) .…”