4.2 Identify how costs may prevent people from choosing a balanced diet

This guide will help you answer 4.2 Identify how costs may prevent people from choosing a balanced diet.

Eating a balanced diet is important for health. Yet, the price of food can stop people from making the best choices. Many workers in health and social care settings witness this issue every day. Financial constraints often shape what people buy and eat.

This guide covers the many ways cost can prevent someone from enjoying a healthy diet.

Price of Healthy Eating

Healthy diets often include fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, wholegrains, and low-fat dairy. These foods can cost more per serving than processed or fast foods. While some fresh produce can be bought in season at lower prices, most nutrient-dense foods carry a higher price label.

Families on low incomes may find protein sources such as chicken, fish, or tofu less affordable than frozen pizza or chicken nuggets. In supermarkets, a “bargain” meal deal can be cheaper than buying separate healthy ingredients.

Common barriers include:

• High price of fresh produce, lean meats and fish
• Low price and wide availability of processed foods high in fat, sugar and salt
• Discounts focused on unhealthy items or bulk offers
• Perceived and real cost difference between healthy and less healthy foods

For example, a bag of apples can be two or three times the price of a multi-pack of sugar-filled biscuits. This can strongly affect choices, especially when feeding a family on a small budget.

Budget Constraints and Food Choices

When money is short, people often focus on simply filling up. Taking care of energy needs comes before thinking about variety or nutrient content. This is called “food prioritisation”—making sure there is enough food, even if it lacks nutrients.

People trying to stretch budgets may:

• Buy filling foods high in carbohydrates
• Choose tinned or processed foods over fresh items
• Opt for large, cheap loaves of white bread rather than wholegrain alternatives
• Drink sugary drinks instead of juice or milk
• Cut back on fruit, vegetables, and plant-based proteins

Research shows households on low incomes buy fewer vegetables, lean meats, and fish. They often rely on cheaper and high-calorie foods, like chips or ready meals.

The Hidden Costs of Healthy Diets

Beyond just the shelf price, eating well can carry extra, often overlooked, costs.

• Fuel and transport: Shopping for quality fresh food sometimes needs trips to larger supermarkets or markets. This is costly for people who rely on public transport or taxis.
• Storage: Fresh food needs storage—good fridges, freezers, and sometimes cool dry spaces. If someone lives in poor housing or shared accommodation, this can be harder.
• Equipment: Preparing healthy meals can mean needing ovens, blenders, slow cookers, or basic pots and pans. People lacking these often go for options they can microwave or eat cold.
• Wastage: Fresh food, especially fruit and vegetables, goes off more quickly. Spoiled food means wasted money, so people may avoid buying it.
• Time: Some healthy meals take longer to prepare and cook. For people balancing several jobs or caring duties, time is money.

All of these hidden costs can steer people away from planning or shopping for a varied, balanced diet.

The Impact of Food Deserts

Not everyone lives near good-value shops. Some areas lack supermarkets or fresh food markets and only have small convenience shops or fast food takeaways. These are sometimes called “food deserts”.

People living in food deserts may:

• Rely on shops that charge more for basic items
• Find fresh fruit and vegetables limited or absent
• See processed, long-life, high-sugar or salty foods as more of what is available
• Spend more money on travel to access full-range supermarkets

This lack of choice keeps the cost of a balanced diet high. It creates gaps between people with access to good shops and those without.

Effect of Income and State Support

For low-income families or single people, every penny counts. People on benefits, low wages, or with insecure work often face hard choices every week.

• The cost of a healthy eating plan may exceed budgets, especially once bills and essentials are paid.
• State support (like Universal Credit or some pensions) may not keep pace with actual cost increases for fresh, healthy foods.
• Children may be particularly affected if households stretch weekly food budgets as far as possible. They often end up with less fruit, vegetables, and fresh fish in their diets.

In some cases, charities and food banks have to step in to fill the gap. Even in food banks, donated or available foods may not always support balanced eating.

Marketing and Perceived Costs

Shoppers are influenced by deals in shops and adverts on TV and online. Often, big discounts and bulk “family” offers are seen on unhealthy items. Multipacks of crisps, fizzy drinks, biscuits, and processed meats feature strongly.

People may feel that eating healthily is beyond their means, even if there are ways to make it more affordable. The perception that “eating well is for the wealthy” is widespread.

Supermarkets may put cheaper, less healthy foods at eye level, making them more tempting for those on tight budgets. Special “value brands” usually cover staple carbohydrates and tinned meals rather than lean proteins or fresh produce.

Meal Planning and Bulk Buying Challenges

Saving money by planning meals for the week or buying in bulk can be helpful. But for many, it is not possible for these reasons:

• Initial outlay: Cheaper prices for bulk packs of lentils, meat, or wholegrains require a bigger upfront payment, which may be out of reach.
• Storage problems: No room in small kitchens for large bags or lots of tins.
• Risk: If a bulk pack of food goes off, that is money wasted.
• Unpredictable wage patterns: People with casual or zero-hours contracts may not be able to plan financially.

Lack of time and experience in food planning increases the chance that workers and families with less money buy convenient, unhealthy options.

Lack of Cooking Skills and Confidence

Costs are not only about money, but knowing how to use food well. Those without the skills or confidence to cook healthy meals with affordable, basic ingredients may keep buying ready meals, as they seem less risky and less wasteful, even if they are more expensive meal-for-meal.

People may not know how to prepare pulses, wholegrains or new vegetables. Worrying about “ruining” food puts them off trying. This adds to the pressure to choose quick, cheap, and filling but not always healthy options.

Poverty and Social Statistics

Links between poverty, cost, and health have been proven. Studies regularly show that people living in lower-income households have poorer diets. They are less likely to:

• Meet daily fruit and vegetable targets
• Eat the recommended portions of oily fish or plant-based protein
• Buy low-fat dairy products or wholegrains

Their diets often contain more saturated fat, sugar, and salt. Over time, this can lead to health problems like obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.

Case Examples

Here are some practical examples to help you apply these issues in your work.

Example 1: Single Parent

A single parent has two children. After paying for rent, heating and school uniforms, there is little left for food. Ready meals from the local shop are on offer, so that is what she buys. Fresh fruit and vegetables are limited because they spoil quickly and are expensive in the small shop.

Example 2: Older Person Living Alone

An older man lives alone on a state pension. He does not drive and the nearest supermarket is over a mile away. He cannot carry much back. He shops at the nearby convenience store. This shop does not sell much fresh food. Tinned soup and sliced white bread are staples since they are cheaper and last longer.

Example 3: Young Worker on a Zero-Hours Contract

A young adult with an unpredictable income takes the “three for £2” deal on instant noodles. He cannot afford to spend more on the ingredients for home-cooked meals. The limited money available each week means healthy diet options take second place.

Ways People Try to Manage

Despite the cost barriers, some people take steps to support healthier eating.

• Watching for discounts on fresh produce near closing
• Using loyalty cards to collect money-off vouchers
• Shopping in markets or discount stores
• Buying “wonky” or mis-shapen fruit and vegetables, which can be cheaper
• Making some meals stretch with pulses or bulk ingredients

While these strategies help, they still do not solve the underlying price difference between healthy and less healthy choices.

Effects on Physical and Mental Health

A poor diet can result in serious health issues:

• Obesity: Filling up on cheap, high-energy foods
• Under-nutrition: Not getting enough vitamins, minerals and protein, even if eating plenty of calories
• Diabetes: Higher risk from high-sugar diets
• Heart disease: Linked to high salt and low intake of healthy fats and vegetables
• Poor dental health from sugary snacks and drinks

Mental health can suffer, too. Worries about providing enough food can cause anxiety. Poor diet may lower mood and energy levels. Children may struggle to focus at school or miss out on chances to socialise, placing further strain on families and individuals.

Final Thoughts

For many people, the cost of food is a constant struggle—it is not a simple matter of choosing healthy or unhealthy options. Limited income shapes every purchase. Making healthy food choices becomes a luxury, not a default.

Rising prices for basic goods have only made this unfairness more visible. Discount deals on unhealthy items make cheap calories more tempting, while the price of nutritious basics, like eggs or milk, can mean tough choices. When bills go up or benefits stay flat, food is often the part of the budget where people cut back.

It takes more than just knowing what a balanced diet is to achieve one. Real barriers like income, transport, storage, equipment, and skills all play a part. For those supporting individuals and families, being sensitive to these realities is key. Telling someone to “just eat better” is not enough when these costs stand in the way.

Awareness of the impact of cost means care workers, support staff, and volunteers can offer advice and signposting that is more realistic and practical. Approaching clients with understanding about their financial limits, and helping them make the best of what they have, helps build trust and support their wellbeing.

Support workers should never judge food choices without knowing the full picture. Cost will often be the most important part of someone’s decision. This context is vital when promoting health and nutrition in any setting.