Diet and nutrition: low income

In 2007, the UK-wide Low Income Diet & Nutrition Survey (LIDNS), commissioned by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to provide detailed information on food consumption, nutrient intakes, nutritional status and the factors that affect these in low income consumers, found that:

“In many respects the areas of dietary concern identified in the low income population were similar to those already identified in the general population, although some were more marked in the LIDNS.

For example:

• Average consumption of fruit and vegetables was one-half of the recommended five

portions per day.

• Intakes of non-milk extrinsic sugars (particularly among children) and saturated fatty acids

were above the (maximum) UK recommendations.

• Intakes of non-starch polysaccharides fell below the (minimum) UK recommendations.
• There was evidence of inadequate nutritional status for iron, folate and vitamin D.
• A substantial proportion of men and women were overweight or obese. “In 2014, Food Standards Scotland published the National diet and nutrition survey (Scotland): 2008 to 2012 results estimating food consumption, nutrient intake and nutritional status of the general population aged 18 months upwards living in Scotland. A breakdown by equivalised household income is also reported with a summary of the key findings reported below:
• The lowest income group had a lower consumption of fruits and vegetables, fibre and some vitamins and minerals and a higher consumption of NMES in children.
• Mean consumption of ‘soft drinks’ (non-diet) was significantly higher in the lowest income quintile compared with the highest income quintile for children aged 11 to 18 years and adults aged 19 to 64 years.
• In 2019, 9% of adults in Scotland reported having experienced food insecurity in terms of worrying that they would run out of food due to lack of money or resources during the previous 12 months, the same proportion as in 2018 (SHeS, 2019). In 2018/2019, almost a third (31 per cent) of single parents and a fifth of single adults aged under 65 living alone (20 per cent) had experienced this.

Scotland Findings

The National diet and nutrition survey (Scotland): 2008 to 2012 results reported the following key findings:

• Intakes of key foods and nutrients were generally very similar in Scotland to those in the UK as a whole.
• The only consistent differences in intakes across the age/sex groups were for vegetables and fibre which were slightly lower in Scotland compared to the UK.
• The findings confirm that both the Scotland and UK population is consuming too much saturated fat, non-milk extrinsic sugars (NMES) (also known as ‘added sugars’ or ‘free sugars’) and salt and not enough fruit and vegetables, oil rich fish and non-starch polysaccharides (NSP; a measure of fibre).