Healthy diets ‘can be cheaper than junk food’

A new UK report has revealed that eating healthy foods in the UK could work out cheaper for consumers than junk-oriented diets.

Researchers from the University of Bristol have conducted a study in which the food diaries of families with obese children were assessed, with healthy food options swapped in for unhealthy ones.

It was found that healthy eating should cost these families just over two pounds a week extra at most, while in some cases it can offer savings of almost seven pounds simply by switching shops.

This challenges the popular perception that healthy eating is more expensive by definition, which is recognised as a common obstacle to dietary change.

Professor Julian Hamilton-Shield of the University of Bristol's school of clinical sciences and Bristol Royal Hospital for Children, said: "Food cost is frequently cited as a reason for failure to address eating behaviours in clinical practice and this study demonstrates that for many this is a perceived rather than real barrier."

This comes after a Cancer Research UK report earlier this month showed that around a third of all UK cancer cases at present are caused by lifestyle factors such as smoking, bad diet, alcohol and excess weight.