Disadvantaged to be targeted on healthier eating

Disadvantaged social groups such the elderly and some ethnic minority communities look set to become the focus of attention for healthy eating messages, following research which shows a direct link between their poor diets and high incidences of ill health later in life.

Around 88 particularly deprived local areas around the country - including 11 in London - have been targeted for action, said Dr Maggie Barker, deputy regional director of public health with the Department of Health and board member of the London Health Observatory.

Speaking at a meeting of the Westminster Diet & Health Forum on health inequalities, Barker said: "There is no doubt that socio-economic and nutritional influences cast a long shadow ... As a country we do not fare very well on nutrition and diet stakes." And Neil Churchill, communications director for Age Concern England, added: "Older people are an afterthought when it comes to public health strategies."

Around one-third of all cancer deaths in England and Wales are related to diet, said Barker, while 8,000 deaths each year from coronary heart disease are linked to obesity - either directly or through diabetes. "Diet has a considerable impact on death through heart disease."

Research showed Bangladeshi communities in some London boroughs with a much higher incidence of coronary heart disease. They also had a lower uptake of corrective surgery such as heart-passes and angioplasty. "The pathway from diet to getting your heart fixed is a very long journey," she said.

Women's diets during pregnancy and breastfeeding are also going to be the focus of increasing attention as further data points to a direct correlation between what we eat early in life and our health as we get older. However, Barker was critical of the paucity of data available. "We collect nothing on nutrition for pregnant women," she said.

But for healthy eating messages to get across, some clever 'social marketing' will be required rather than the usual top down approach from government, said Dr Jeff French, project director from the National Consumer Council. "We are great in this country at counting the sick and dead," he said. "What we don't do enough of is understanding the living."

French was highly critical of the lack of co-ordination regarding health messages. "It's a national scandal," he claimed, and he called for more collaboration between government and the food and drink industry. "The challenge is to start creating active partnerships with the private sector in tackling these issues."

Communications specialist Claire Cater suggested a system of 'life miles' scheme, similar to the air miles scheme offered to frequent flyers, should be introduced to encourage people - particularly the young - to buy in to healthier eating and healthier lifestyles.

Imogen Sharp, head of the health inequalities programme at the Department of Health, reported that early indications from an evaluation of the five-a-day' programme, due to be published shortly, showed "one portion increases among the lowest income consumers"

Tackling health inequalities will be a central theme of the UK's presidency of the European Union and a summit on the subject is planned for October 17 and 18, which will cover food promotion to children, said Sharp. Before that, a meeting on diet, physical activity and health is scheduled to be held in London in September. This will examine salt, fat and sugar intake in European diets.

A European Green paper on nutrition is to be published in the autumn, prior to meeting of the European Health Council in December.