Junk food a stress reliever for poor and disadvantaged, says study

Poor people facing financial worries, unemployment, crime, and housing problems turn to junk food and comfort eating to ease stress, a new report revealed today.

The cross-border study also warned the bad habits can cause life-threatening health problems such as heart disease and some cancers and also bring on depression.

Young, less well-off women living in cities are most likely to suffer from these bad diets.

Health chiefs at Safefood claimed parents are facing a daily battle to feed their children well – adding to their stress.

And Dr Cliodhna Foley Nolan, the group’s director of human health and nutrition, said many mothers and fathers turn to comfort food and treats for their kids.

“With so many advertising and marketing campaigns for unhealthy foods targeted at their children, parents are faced with the resulting demands for treats and high fat or high sugar foods, creating an additional stress,” she said.

Safefood said bad diets over many years increased the risk of heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, and some cancers along with anxiety and depression.

Women and children are more vulnerable than men to differences in food and nutrient intake in less well-off groups.

Daily struggles such as money worries, housing problems, unemployment, local crime and disorder and childcare demands were blamed as a major contributor to bad eating habits.

“Our research revealed that low socio-economic status groups feel that they have less control of their health,” said Dr Foley Nolan.

“Cost appears to play a secondary role when compared to other barriers to healthy eating including social stresses.

“These groups were more accepting of being overweight, and were therefore less likely to make, or maintain changes to their diet.”

The report, Diet, Nutrient Intake and Attitudes among Disadvantaged Groups, was launched at the safefood Food Poverty Conference in Dundalk.

It found people in lower socio-economic groups eat more treat foods than wealthier peers and less healthy foods such as fruit, vegetables and fibre.

“The cultural acceptance of being overweight was also associated with a tendency towards so-called ’comfort eating’,” Dr Foley Nolan continued.

She said overindulgence in unhealthy food was often used as a way to cope with social problems.