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MADAyuMadyan - Seperti
Britain terus mengalami kemerosotan dalam gaji yang sebenar, penduduk sedang
beralih daripada penggunaan bahan-bahan segar dan sebaliknya beralih kepada
lemak, makanan yang manis atau yang diproses, menurut kajian baru yang
dikeluarkan hari ini.
Laporan,
bertajuk ‘Perbelanjaan dan Kualiti Makanan Pemakanan lebih Kemelesetan Besar’ (‘Food Expenditure and
Nutritional Quality over the Great Recession’) dan ‘Kerakusan di England?
Perubahan jangka panjang dalam Diet,’ (‘Gluttony in
England? Long-term Change in Diet,’) telah diterbitkan oleh Institut
Pengajian Fiskal (IFS ). Mereka menggariskan bagaimana kenaikan kos makanan
yang sihat, digabungkan dengan kadar pengangguran semakin meningkat, menolak
orang ke arah penggunaan yang semakin meningkat menghasilkan tinggi lemak dan
gula - walaupun penurunan agak membingungkan dalam jumlah kalori yang
digunakan.
“Kami
mendapati bahawa, secara purata, di beberapa langkah, kualiti pemakanan makanan
dibeli menurun 2005-07 untuk 2010-12 ,” IFS dinyatakan.
Penduduk
UK membelanjakan kira-kira 8.5% peratus di atas makanan pada harga sebenar
daripada mereka sebelum kemelesetan. Ekonomi mula menunjukkan tanda-tanda
pemulihan tetapi gaji yang sebenar kekal rendah, dengan harga masih meningkat
lebih cepat daripada upah, menurut angka daripada Pejabat Statistik Kebangsaan September.
“Anggaran
kami menunjukkan bahawa kalori dibeli untuk makan di luar rumah dan dalam
minuman ringan, gula-gula dan makanan ringan telah meningkat untuk semua jenis
rumah,” kata kajian itu.
Pada
bulan Ogos, ‘House Of Common’s Perpustakaan statistik digambarkan bahawa
terdapat penurunan 5.5% peratus dalam gaji yang sebenar sejak tahun 2010, yang
bermaksud bahawa hanya Yunani, Portugis, dan Belanda gaji menyaksikan
kemerosotan yang lebih mendalam dalam tempoh masa yang sama.
Pengguna
data Indeks Harga September ini digambarkan bahawa inflasi kekal pada 2.7%
peratus - angka yang sama seperti Ogos, dan mencerminkan kadar 12 bulan dari
September 2012.
“Ini
bermakna bahawa sekumpulan barangan dan perkhidmatan yang kos £ 100,00 pada
September 2012 akan mempunyai kos £ 102,70 pada bulan September 2013,” Pejabat
Statistik Kebangsaan berkata dalam satu kenyataan yang dikeluarkan di samping
angka.
Walau
bagaimanapun, kajian IFS mendapati bahawa “terdapat penurunan yang agak besar
kalori yang dibeli,” mengenal pasti corak itu sebagai ‘Across-the-board’ untuk
semua jenis isi rumah.
Keluarga
dengan kanak-kanak menyaksikan peningkatan terbesar dalam pengambilan makanan
yang manis, manakala generasi tua (dalam 50 + berkurungan) menunjukkan
penggunaan yang lebih tinggi tinggi makanan lemak tepu.
“Pesara
isi rumah, isi rumah ibu atau bapa tunggal dan isi rumah dengan anak-anak muda
melihat penurunan terbesar dalam kualiti pemakanan makanan yang dibeli antara
2005-07 dan 2010-12.” Kata IFS.
Menurut
2011 data kesihatan daripada Pertubuhan bagi Kerjasama Ekonomi dan Pembangunan
(OECD) yang dipetik oleh laporan itu, lebih 25% peratus daripada orang dewasa
UK gemuk dan 70% peratus mempunyai berat badan berlebihan .
“Berat
purata lelaki dewasa telah meningkat sebanyak 8.6 kilogram dan berat daripada
wanita dewasa sebanyak 7.9 kilogram dalam tempoh yang sama [1980-2009],” kajian
mendapati.
Menurut
kaji selidik YouGov juga dikeluarkan pada hari Isnin, 25% peratus daripada
orang-orang British yang makan daging kurang tahun ini berbanding 2012. 2% peratus
berkata mereka makan lebih, manakala 17% peratus berkata mereka tidak makan
apa-apa daging sama sekali.
Kerajaan
Konservatif di Britain telah jatuh di bawah kritikan tajam sejak awal yang panjang
di pejabat, selepas aliran langkah-langkah penjimatan telah diperkenalkan.
Langkah-langkah yang luas - yang paling teruk sejak Perang DUNIA II - telah
diumumkan pada Oktober 2010, pemotongan pekerjaan di sektor awam dan faedah,
dan pemotongan belanjawan.
Ia
muncul pada akhir Oktober bahawa lebih 5 juta orang yang dibayar kurang
daripada gaji yang hidup di UK - walaupun beberapa langkah-langkah yang diambil
untuk membetulkan keadaan. Kenaikan beberapa £ 400 setahun selama kira-kira
30,000 pekerja bergaji rendah telah diumumkan pada hari Isnin.
“Ini
adalah satu kecemasan kira-kira lebih daripada statistik. Ia adalah mengenai
orang sebenar yang bekerja keras - sepenuh masa dan sebahagian, sering dalam
pelbagai pekerjaan atau kontrak - jam sifar - dan tidak dapat memenuhi
keperluan,” pemimpin pembangkang Ed Miliband menulis dalam ‘Standard’ pada Petang
hari Isnin.
Rakyat
telah cuba untuk menangani dengan keperluan untuk menjimatkan dengan membeli
makanan kurang dan memilih produk yang lebih murah, yang sering mempunyai
kandungan pemakanan yang lebih rendah. Bagaimanapun, kajian itu juga mengakui
bahawa mengambil Inggeris di antara 15
dan 30% peratus kurang kalori dalam jumlah daripada pada tahun 1980, dan
mencadangkan bahawa kadar obesiti yang semakin meningkat boleh dikaitkan dengan
gaya hidup yang lebih aktif.
UK austerity spurs switch to junk food, studies
say
As
Britain continues to suffer from a slump in real wages, the population is
moving away from the consumption of fresh produce and is instead resorting to
fatty, sugary or processed foods, according to new research released Monday.
The
reports, titled ‘Food
Expenditure and Nutritional Quality over the Great Recession’ and ‘Gluttony in
England? Long-term Change in Diet,’ were published by the Institute for
Fiscal Studies (IFS). They outline how
the rising costs of healthy foods, combined with rising unemployment rates, are
pushing people towards the increasing consumption of produce high in fats and
sugar - despite a somewhat puzzling decrease in the total number of calories
being consumed.
“We find
that, on average, across a number of measures, the nutritional quality of foods
purchased declined from 2005-07 to 2010-12,” the IFS stated.
UK
residents are spending approximately 8.5 percent less on food in real terms
than they were prior to the recession. The economy is starting to display signs
of recovery but real wages remain low, with prices still rising more quickly
than wages, according to September figures from the Office for National
Statistics.
“Our
estimates suggest that calories purchased for eating outside the home and in
soft drinks, confectionery and snacks have increased for all household types,”
said the study.
In
August, House of Commons Library statistics illustrated that there has been a
5.5 percent drop in real wages since 2010, meaning that only Greek, Portuguese,
and Dutch wages saw a deeper deterioration over the same time period.
September’s
Consumer Price Index data illustrated that inflation has remained at 2.7
percent – the same figure as August, and reflective of the 12 month rate from
September 2012.
“This
means that a basket of goods and services that cost £100.00 in September 2012
would have cost £102.70 in September 2013,” the Office of National Statistics
said in a statement released alongside the figures.
However,
the IFS study found that “there has been a fairly substantial decline in
calories purchased,” identifying the pattern as being across-the-board for all
types of households.
Families
with children saw the biggest increase in consumption of sugary foods, while
older generations (in the 50+ bracket) saw a higher consumption of food high in
saturated fat.
“Pensioner
households, single-parent households and households with young children saw the
largest declines in the nutritional quality of the foods purchased between
2005–07 and 2010–12.” the IFS said.
According
to 2011 health data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD) cited by the report, over 25 percent of UK adults are obese
and 70 percent are overweight.
“The
average weight of an adult male has increased by 8.6 kilograms and the weight
of an adult female by 7.9 kilograms over the same period [1980-2009],” the
study found.
According
to a YouGov survey also released on Monday, 25 percent of British people are
eating less meat this year than in 2012. Two percent said they were eating
more, while 17 percent said they do not eat any meat at all.
Britain’s
Conservative government has fallen under sharp criticism since the beginning of
its term in office, after a stream of austerity measures were introduced. The
sweeping measures – the most severe since World War II - were unveiled in
October 2010, slashing public sector jobs and benefits, and cutting budgets.
It
emerged towards the end of October that over five million people are paid less
than the living wage in the UK – although some measures are being taken to remedy
that situation. A rise of some £400 per year for around 30,000 low-paid workers
was announced on Monday.
“This is
an emergency about more than statistics. It is about real people who work hard -
full and part time, often in multiple jobs or on zero-hours contracts - and
can’t make ends meet,” opposition leader Ed Miliband wrote in the Evening
Standard on Monday.
People
have been attempting to cope with the need to economize by buying less food and
selecting cheaper products, which often have lower nutritional content.
However, the study also recognizes that the English consume between 15 and 30
percent fewer calories in total than in 1980, and suggests that increasing
obesity rates could be attributed to a more sedentary lifestyle.
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