The junk food divide

Despite generations of overweight people blaming their size on their genes, new research reveals that the North-South obesity divide may have more to do with food shopping habits than family history.

A new nutrition map of Britain unveiled by MySupermarket.co.uk looked at 250,000 orders with the UK’s biggest supermarkets through its price comparison website.
It revealed that families in areas with the lowest life expectancy spend least on healthy food and most on junk food. Shoppers in the North-East spend 22 per cent less on fruit and vegetables than those in London and the South-East.
At the same time, they spend 23 per cent more on crisps and snacks.
Average annual spending on fruit and vegetables in Hull, Newcastle, Sunderland and Middlesbrough is £403, which is £120 less than in London and the South-East.
Spending on crisps and snacks in the North-East is £153 a year, £29 more than in London and the South-East.
However, MySupermarket says it is wrong to assume that this is purely a problem of poorer families being unable to afford healthy food, as the website produced figures showing that healthy options can be cheaper than processed foods high in calories.