Sustain urges UK parliament toward whole food system approach to dietary inequality reform

15 Dec 2022 --- Sustain – the alliance for better food and farming – warned that the need for systemic solutions would reap holistic benefits rather than tackling individual behavior in the UK’s latest parliamentary briefing about the link between poor health and dietary inequality.

Sustain spoke to the researchers, drawing attention to the need for a whole food system approach that includes cash-based and universal support for those most in need.

“For a start, the UK Government should expand access to Healthy Start, make Free School Meals universal, and bolster the School Fruit and Veg Scheme, to help children and young parents access healthy food,” Ben Reynolds, deputy chief executive of Sustain, tells NutritionInsight.

“We also need benefits to be lifted in line with inflation and for everyone to receive a real living wage. Twelve years of food bank aid has shown this well meaning response does not tackle the root causes of poverty nor does it solve the dietary inequalities that leave too many struggling to secure healthy food for all,” explains Reynolds.

The parliamentary research team published an advisory paper on the impact of poor diet on health, outlining the causal link between poor diet and health inequalities. It went on to recognize that people experiencing disadvantages such as disability, ill mental health or having a low income are most at risk of diet-related health problems. 

Getting to the root of health inequality
The paper states that “inequalities in diets contribute to overall inequalities in health – improved diets can improve population-wide health and reduce wider health inequalities.”

“Before the current cost-of-living-crisis took hold, four million UK households were already experiencing household food insecurity. So despite global events, there is a pre-existing poverty crisis in this country. UK food price inflation recently rose to a 45-year high of 16.5% as staples and fresh produce became more expensive,” Reynolds contextualizes.

A poor diet has been identified as one of the most significant, preventable risk factors for ill health.According to the Food Foundation, rates of obesity, undernutrition and stunting are increasing across the UK. It revealed that lower-income households are disproportionately affected, impacting the National Healthcare System (NHS) and broader society.

One of the Sustain recommendations is to reintroduce the £20 (US$25) uplift to Universal Credit or introduce the universal provision of free school meals. 

“We also emphasized the need for the national government and local authorities to work in genuine partnership with communities, including those in poverty, to design solutions at all scales,” a Sustain spokesperson says. 

“The consensus among a range of researchers is that strategies are currently insufficient to improve population health and reach those most affected by inequalities. It is widely thought that changing the physical, economic, social and commercial environment through a range of interventions is required, rather than targeting actions at individual behavior,” the parliamentary report concluded. 

The report further states that the process would require sustained and coordinated action in a long-term strategy. “Planning and implementation of policies with the affected communities to reflect local needs and make use of existing infrastructure could be the most inclusive and effective approach in addressing inequalities.”

Multi-faceted approach 
The report recommends a cross-departmental approach to address wider health factors and regular monitoring and ongoing adjustment of policies.

Earlier this year, the UK’s long-awaited food strategy to improve nutrition was met with widespread criticism by campaigners, who criticized the government for siding with industry rather than attempting to boost public health.

Researchers are also increasingly worried the country is losing its focus on dietary advice and how vital it is to stem obesity amid concerns the UK government will scrap recently-introduced health and nutrition policies. 

Collaboration between local, regional and national, public and private stakeholders and communities has also been identified as crucial to the program’s success.Researchers believe current strategies are insufficient to improve population health and reach those most affected. 

Poor diet is one of the biggest preventable risk factors for ill health, contributing to lower life expectancy and earlier onset of ill health, according to parliament.

The risk analysis
People most at risk of diet-related ill health include the disabled, those on lower incomes, those in deprived areas, those from some minority ethnic backgrounds and vulnerable people such as the homeless.  

Some groups are likely to be disadvantaged in multiple ways, compounding the risk of poor health outcomes. 

Actions that target individual behavior are unlikely to be successful. Experts argue that strategic change is required to tackle the economic, social and commercial factors that make it harder to eat healthily. 

Researchers believe current strategies are insufficient to improve population health and reach those most affected. 

The topic focuses on the government’s 2020 Obesity Strategy, the Food Strategy, part of the Levelling Up agenda and is expected to feature in the Health Disparities White Paper. 

By Inga de Jong