Diets to get worse during downturn, experts warn

OUR diets will worsen during the recession, making the obesity epidemic worse, health experts warned yesterday.

A rise in poverty, more takeaways and a greater reliance on cheap convenience food will all combine to the rise in obesity levels, they said.

Irish Heart Foundation health promotion manager Maureen Mulvihill said: “People may be more likely to choose foods that are inexpensive, which typically can be convenience foods.”

The concern was echoed by the Institute of Public Health in Ireland which warned that people’s diets were likely to get worse with recession.

The institute’s associate director Dr Kevin Balanda said: “When a household budget gets squeezed, the food is usually the first to be affected.”