Low income families providing poor diet for children

A new report has found that parents on a low income are struggling to find enough money for food good enough for a healthy diet.

The report, by leading children's charity NCH, said that because of the financial burden on low income families children's diets were becoming nutritionally poor.

Figures from the survey showed that families spent just £2.20 a day on food per person while 28% of their children never eat green vegetables or salad; one in ten never eat fruit; and 43% eat crisps most days.

Ross McCrea, NCH policy office for Northern Ireland said the recent worries over obesity in young children had placed a lot of blame with parents.

"It is right to be concerned about rising levels of childhood obesity," he said. "But NCH's report shows that it is unfair to place all the blame on parents and children.

"The government needs to do much, much more if it is to put healthy food within the reach of children."

Among the recommendations for an improvement in the nutritional diet of children, NCH called for social security benefits to contain an explicit element for food.

Food manufacturers and retailers should also work with the Food Standards Agency to reduce salt, sugar and fat in foods aimed at children; remove snacks and sweets from supermarket checkouts, and other measures, the NCH added.

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