People will have been at work all day with the threat of losing that job looming closer. They will come home and watch the television where it is constantly reiterated that there is a credit crunch, that jobs will be lost, that people’s homes are being repossessed. With all this stress and financial pressure, it does not take a scientist to work out that people will comfort eat.

Fresh vegetables and fruit are expensive compared to stodgy foods, when people cut costs these are the things they'll cut out. The financial crisis means people will pay less attention to their bodies and more attention to their budget. They will think of their short term cash flow instead of their long term health. People will look for cheap calories instead of healthy calories. This will inevitably lead to an even fatter nation.

This is not even taking account of the fact that people will not be able to afford gym membership and so will not be able to burn off these stodgy foods.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/stoke/content/articles/2008/11/18/credit_crunch_feature.shtml

Vegetables are not too expensive, maybe some types of fruit, but a healthy diet doesn’t need too much fruit. I am saying this from Portugal. Certainly prices will be different, but here 500g of Broccoli isn’t more than 1,50 euro, a can of beans 0,68 euros and one package of pasta costs approximately 0,60. And are all things full of fibre, vitamins and other goodness. And I am sure that a meal with those type of foods will make your stomach full for a long period. But many people don’t chose these options. Instead prefer cakes, pizzas and other things that are cheap too. In conclusion, we have many ways to spend our money.

Perhaps the cost of making our own meals is cheaper, however, people may not realise this and wont switch to home cooking. McDonalds is doing remarkably well in its sales considering we are in a financial crisis. This contrasts with the situation a couple of years ago when McDonalds was suffering due to people choosing to go to coffee shops and have an expensive but healthy lunch. Now people do not want a healthy lunch, they want a cheap fast fix, and McDonalds is only to happy to sell them what they want.

People will realise that £5 for one meal is extortionate compared to what a meal can cost if they prepared food at home. So instead of going for an expensive sandwich which is full of salt, people will get two slices of bread and put in their own filling. This will be cheaper and more nutritious.

On a night in, when discussing food options, surely large spaghetti bolognaise to share would be given more preference than spending £8 each on a super size pizza.

When people are being so savvy with their purse and its contents, prices will be checked. People will actually look at what the food they are buying is costing. This will lead to a great education for most people. They will have to face their preconception that ready-made meals are cheaper. With deals like 4 meals for £7, it may sound cheap, but people will begin to realise that if they buy things like pasta and rice in bulk, they can make meals far cheaper than this, and they will be healthier due to them not having as much salt and hidden calories.

Perhaps this is too simplistic for people to realise, but if food prices are soaring, perhaps people will eat less? Instead of spending money on food, people will make do with as little as possible. They will stop buying snack foods. They will cut out lunch. People will begin to live with hunger, like they have learnt to live with the cold. This may not result in a healthier nation, but it will not result in a fatter nation.

Fresh vegetables and fresh fruit are often cited as very expensive. However, these are not the only ways to achieve a healthy diet. Frozen fruit and vegetables are healthy too. Maybe not as much as the fresh versions, but they still have the vast majority of the nutrients we need. A cheap bag of frozen peas, a cheap box of raspberries, these sorts of products have a long shelf life and so a person need not worry that the food will go to waste, you simply cook what you need.

While people will have less money as a whole, the bare essentials for survival won't be the first thing they cut down on. There are many luxuries that are less important than food, water, warm clothing, shelter and medicine. If people don't scrimp on food, there is no reason for them to change their diets. They will probably cut down on luxury foods and nights out at restaurants, or maybe buy cheaper brands, but they won't change their day-to-day diet.