Posted by Hari on Tuesday, August 26, 2014 with 1 comment | Labels: Austerity, benefits, Big Society, inequality, Inflation
SOURCE BBC NEWS: Food poverty: Faculty of Public Health issues malnutrition health warning
More people are suffering from malnutrition as a result of worsening food poverty, experts have warned. The Faculty of Public Health said conditions like rickets were becoming more apparent because people could not afford quality food in their diet. Data from the Health and Social Care Information Centre showed the number of those admitted to hospital in England and Wales had risen from 5,469 to 6,520 over the past year. Vice president of the Faculty of Public Health, John Middleton, said food-related ill health was getting worse "through extreme poverty and the use of food banks". The faculty recently claimed that UK food prices had risen by 12% since 2007. It also noted that in the same period, UK workers had suffered a 7.6% fall in wages. The main symptom of malnutrition is rapid weight loss - usually 5-10% within a few months. Other signs include: weak muscles, constantly feeling tired, an increase in illnesses or infections, children will not grow as quickly, and will show changes in behaviour becoming irritable, sluggish and anxious. Meanwhile, Durham Police and Crime Commissioner Ron Hogg told BBC Radio 4's Today programme some people were resorting to committing crime "simply to live". "The evidence shows that shoplifting and theft in general is rising exponentially and there must be a reason for that," he said, adding that it was important to address the causes of such crimes. Health Minister Dan Poulter said the government had "given local authorities a £5.4bn budget over two years to help them manage public health issues, including malnutrition, in their areas." He also said the rise in malnutrition could be partly due to better diagnosis and detection by health professionals of people at risk.
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"More people are suffering from malnutrition as a result of worsening food poverty, experts have warned. "
ReplyDeleteThe experts are wrong. I know so many middle class kids that eat pure crap - chips and pizzas every day - that I can't believe this data is simply down to food poverty. It is also down to poor parenting.