To be sad and appalled that a healthy diet is now beyond the reach of many.

[Darkesteyes]

Absolutely appalling. And it will have an effect on the NHS. Poorer people are bashed for being poor.. and bashed for being overweight. Why do I have a feeling its only going to get worse.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-27225323

that's what she told me rollon shes very short

rollon I could easily pack it on to move up three dress sizes in a fortnight :( Wine is a big factor, liquid chocolate as my mother says x

I'm sorry but unless you have a medical condition or you had your dress size wrong in the first place, I can't see anyone going from a size 12 to a size 18 in just two weeks, no way in the world.

I think it's a load of crap to think that eating well is expensive. A bag of frozen broccoli is about £1, a tin of sardines 40p. I could go on.

Lack of education is the problem. And this British fixation with people wanting meat every bloody day at least once a day. Oh, and laziness.

Worra, local high school here as 1600 kids. I reckon about 1000 of them spend £1-3 on our high street 5 days a week (chippie, Subway, Chinese takeaway that does chips and curry sauce, newsagent, Greggs).

You do the maths….
I agree it's a huge problem, but poverty is only one part of it.

It is possible to eat healthily on very little money. You just don't get the choice of the most expensive apples in the shop. All the following things are very cheap and healthy:

Bananas
Some seasonal fruit
Seasonal vegetables
Porridge
Pulses
Pasta, rice
tinned tomatoes
Porridge
Eggs
Some of the 'non prime' cuts of meat such as liver

Not so cheap, but small amounts of cheaper meat (mince, stewing cuts, pork is usually cheaper than beef and chicken) can add protein and interest to meals.

Frozen fish can also be not hugely expensive. The obvious source of simple recipes with simple, inexpensive ingredients is agirlcalledjack blog, but there are thousands of other sources of budget recipes out there.

Slimming World is often cited as an example of how to lose or maintain weight while eating lots of pasta etc. You just have to cut things like crisps, pop, biscuits and booze back to tiny amounts.

9 apples at 89p from aldi today. nine child sized portions. aldi's supersix are 39p this week. tomatoes and cucumber and packets of beetroot are now filling my fridge.

however some things cost money to cook, which adds to the expense. cheaper to heat something in the microwave for 5 mins than cook on the cooker.

whole grain stuff is generally more expensive and takes longer to cook, hence more expensive again.

some things are cheaper if you buy in bulk, but that requires having enough money to buy in bulk either that or carrots for breakfast dinner and tea.

12 bags of crisps, one large fruit cake, 8 twix fingers, 24 fairy cakes - all £1 in Poundland

Versus 6 small bananas for about the same. There are more calories in the processed food even though they're nutritionally deficient and if you've little food you're going to buy the calories.

I've put on 5 kg during a one week holiday a few weeks ago. I didn't even visit all that many relatives. I can believe it.

I remember the apples in the wooden box on the balcony, lasting for ages. Now they get rotten and shrunk within a week inside the house.

Meat is the most expensive thing to buy.

Anyway we're getting somewhat side tracked by the OP's Mum's weight gain

It kind of proves my point though, she overate massively and gained weight because of it.

I lived on frozen ready meals when I first left home because they were a novelty (my Mum wouldn't have them in the house) and if anything I lost weight because they're so small and I still didn't snack between meals or drive.

pacific I have noticed that many of the staples we used to get in bulk as children now rot much quicker. This is true of apples which get brown bits in, carrots which liquefy (in my childhood carrots went shrivelled and deydrated) and potatoes which can't go more than 2 min without going green and sprouting even when I keep them in the dark.

I think the way some of these products are stored and artificially ripened means they go off incredibly quickly.

Individual fruit and veg items are on offer and are cheap but overall, if you want to up your fruit and veg to 7 portions a day as recommended, or even 5, it is pricey, because you can't eat the same thing every single day and if you buy say a bag of parsnips, some are rotting before the week is out.

I know it is more expensive as I've been trying to eat much healthier lately and it has added about £20 to the shop per week so far. It is far cheaper to rely on cheap biscuits and value pasta.

Yep Correct at the age of 29 I lost 10 stone with SW eating lots of pasta.

At nearly 41 ,,,,,,errr not so much I have HAD to cut it out or I DONT lose,
2 stone aint much in that space of time but my GP Yes the NHS told me I am losing weight at a sensible rate and guess what....I gained less at xmas than the ones who had lost more weight quicker.

Yes I agree meat is very expensive.

The price of veg doesn't bother me because in almost all the supermarkets I go in, frozen veg is quite cheap.

No way! It's possible to eat wood shavings and be healthy. You can magic up fuel to cook them. Bin raking is free.

I am on a low budget. We eat very healthily. We don't eat meat....that saves a LOT and we have fresh fruit and veg daily. Not exciting fruit...apples, satsumas and bananas....when we can I buy soft fruit when it's on offer.

One head of broccoli is less than a pound. Frozen peas are as good as fresh almost....apples...I buy cheap ones...pound a bag....I don't see that healthy eating is unattainable....I just think many people choose other stuff.

Like meat.

Hi expat

worra frozen veg is a BIG part of my diet now.

Look, I am a huge socialist but I say that you can eat well and healthily on a very low budget and that includes fruit and veg.

I cook all the time -several times per day as I eat a lot of hot food.

We are also quite careless with lights and I feel the cold, so the heating is on a lot. Our gas and electric is £90 per month, averaged over the year, which I don't think is particularly expensive.

A lot of the things I listed can be cooked in the microwave or slow cooker, so the fuel used is small.

If you were living off the £1 pizzas they would still need to be cooked in the oven .

Tower with things like parsnips or other hard root veg, I make them straight into curry or soup which I then freeze. They do gyo off otherwise as you say....also when it comes to fresh fruit and veg...you CAN eat the same daily...I eat a couple of apples a day, a banana and probably a couple of satsumas....the DC the same or less...added to that is veg and salad. Rice, pasta and lentils feature a Lot in our diet.....I have built up a huge store of spices and herbs so that things taste nice.

I use my slow cooker a lot. Everyone on my FB know at this. I have a Phillips Air Fryer, too, bought a couple of years back that is very good and energy efficient for making homemade chicken and fish bites, chips, fish cakes, etc.

We live rurally, going to Aldi or Lidl sets you back a good 20 quid, but is worth it if you go once a month.

Having things like a chest freezer, a slow cooker, the fryer and even a camp stove and fuel in especially lean times and knowing what to do, however, does go a long way.

I just snacked on spinach leaves, chopped tomato, croutons made from stale bread and homemade vinaigrette, but I can see where a bar of chocolate might be more appealing and cheaper.

I can eat strawberries pears and apples.

Foods ive been told to avoid. by the doctor due to colic are.

Oranges
Kiwi
Raspberries.
Lemons
Plums
Grapefruit
Starfruit.

And anything else remotely citrusy This does limit my choices somewhat .

That's good because frozen veg is healthy and still fairly cheap.

I should probably add that I live in a Borough that's in the top 5 most poorest in London, just in case anyone thinks I'm living in an ivory tower and bumping my gums

But I do see poverty all around me and I still can't link obesity to it, considering there was a massive obesity problem before the recession anyway.

I think the car culture, along with the takeaway/snacking and internet culture has a lot to do with it...coupled with parents who are too scared to let their 10yr olds walk to the local shop for a pint of milk, let alone play in the streets or the parks.

With regards to portion sizes, I think some people get it so wrong because they're comparing what they eat to others around them who are also massively overeating.

It's complex as a PP said.

We are on meters for leccy and gas, no, can't get off them now, and fuel is a MAJOR expense. When DD1 was in hospital and I had to live with her, I got those Sistema this for the microwave, as I had only a microwave and kettle to feed myself and we were not permitted to keep a lot of fresh goods in the parent fridge, so I got a few flasks, too.

Those things are like gold dust even now! Microwave is cheap to use and flasks mean only boiling the kettle once a day.