Malnutrition from wage stagnation and food price inflation has caused a health crisis that could have been avoided.
Despite technological advancements and economic growth, access to nutritious food has become increasingly difficult for many households.
The consequences are severe: hospital admissions for malnutrition-related conditions have surged, and the National Health Service (NHS) is shouldering a burden that should have been prevented.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
Food prices in the UK have risen dramatically since 2010. By early 2013, grocery costs had already increased by 17 per cent since the general election of May 2010[1].
Since then, food price inflation has continued at an alarming pace, with a cumulative rise of approximately 70 per cent by 2025[2].
This sharp increase has significantly outpaced wage growth, making basic nutrition increasingly unaffordable for low- and middle-income households.
While food prices have soared, average wages have not kept pace. Between 2010 and 2024, median weekly earnings in the UK increased from £499 to £728—nominal growth of around 46 per cent[3].
But when adjusted for inflation, real earnings have barely risen, with one analysis suggesting that workers are only £16 a week better off in real terms than they were in 2010[4].
This wage stagnation has left many households struggling to maintain a healthy diet.
The consequences of these economic pressures on the NHS are becoming increasingly clear. Hospital admissions related to malnutrition have surged by more than 39 per cent in the past decade[5].
In 2023-24 alone, nearly 192,000 people were admitted to hospital due to iron deficiency, a condition strongly linked to poor diet[6].
Meanwhile, an estimated 2.9 million people in England suffer from disease-related malnutrition, with nearly half a million requiring NHS care each year[7].
Among children, malnutrition is also worsening. In 2022, 1.2 per cent of four- to five-year-olds and 1.7 per cent of 10- to 11-year-olds in England were classified as underweight, with significantly higher rates in deprived areas[8].
This crisis is not just a humanitarian concern—it has profound economic implications.
Malnutrition increases susceptibility to infections, delays recovery from illness, and exacerbates chronic conditions, placing additional strain on NHS resources.
As the NHS faces record pressures, preventable nutrition-related hospital admissions represent a failure of policy.
Addressing this issue requires urgent intervention. Measures such as increasing wages in real terms, regulating food prices, and expanding access to healthy, affordable food must be prioritized to prevent further deterioration of public health.
This crisis is not inevitable, but it demands decisive action.
Without intervention, malnutrition will continue to rise, placing both human lives and public services at further risk. And what is Keir Starmer doing?
Footnotes:
- Millionaires’ government will make paupers of us all (Vox Political, January 2013).
- ONS data on food price inflation, 2010-2025.
- UK Parliament Library: Median earnings, 2010-2024.
- Resolution Foundation analysis of real wage growth, June 2024.
- Guardian analysis of NHS hospital admissions for malnutrition, January 2025.
- NHS data on iron deficiency hospital admissions, 2023-24.
- Danone research on disease-related malnutrition in England.
- UK Government statistics on childhood nutrition, 2022.
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Be among the first to know what’s going on! Here are the ways to manage it:
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (bottom right of the home page). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
5) Follow Vox Political writer Mike Sivier on BlueSky
6) Join the MeWe page at https://mewe.com/p-front/voxpolitical
7) Feel free to comment!
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
Malnutrition from wage stagnation and food price inflation has caused a health crisis
Malnutrition from wage stagnation and food price inflation has caused a health crisis that could have been avoided.
Despite technological advancements and economic growth, access to nutritious food has become increasingly difficult for many households.
The consequences are severe: hospital admissions for malnutrition-related conditions have surged, and the National Health Service (NHS) is shouldering a burden that should have been prevented.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
Food prices in the UK have risen dramatically since 2010. By early 2013, grocery costs had already increased by 17 per cent since the general election of May 2010[1].
Since then, food price inflation has continued at an alarming pace, with a cumulative rise of approximately 70 per cent by 2025[2].
This sharp increase has significantly outpaced wage growth, making basic nutrition increasingly unaffordable for low- and middle-income households.
While food prices have soared, average wages have not kept pace. Between 2010 and 2024, median weekly earnings in the UK increased from £499 to £728—nominal growth of around 46 per cent[3].
But when adjusted for inflation, real earnings have barely risen, with one analysis suggesting that workers are only £16 a week better off in real terms than they were in 2010[4].
This wage stagnation has left many households struggling to maintain a healthy diet.
The consequences of these economic pressures on the NHS are becoming increasingly clear. Hospital admissions related to malnutrition have surged by more than 39 per cent in the past decade[5].
In 2023-24 alone, nearly 192,000 people were admitted to hospital due to iron deficiency, a condition strongly linked to poor diet[6].
Meanwhile, an estimated 2.9 million people in England suffer from disease-related malnutrition, with nearly half a million requiring NHS care each year[7].
Among children, malnutrition is also worsening. In 2022, 1.2 per cent of four- to five-year-olds and 1.7 per cent of 10- to 11-year-olds in England were classified as underweight, with significantly higher rates in deprived areas[8].
This crisis is not just a humanitarian concern—it has profound economic implications.
Malnutrition increases susceptibility to infections, delays recovery from illness, and exacerbates chronic conditions, placing additional strain on NHS resources.
As the NHS faces record pressures, preventable nutrition-related hospital admissions represent a failure of policy.
Addressing this issue requires urgent intervention. Measures such as increasing wages in real terms, regulating food prices, and expanding access to healthy, affordable food must be prioritized to prevent further deterioration of public health.
This crisis is not inevitable, but it demands decisive action.
Without intervention, malnutrition will continue to rise, placing both human lives and public services at further risk. And what is Keir Starmer doing?
Footnotes:
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Be among the first to know what’s going on! Here are the ways to manage it:
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (bottom right of the home page). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
5) Follow Vox Political writer Mike Sivier on BlueSky
6) Join the MeWe page at https://mewe.com/p-front/voxpolitical
7) Feel free to comment!
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
you might also like
How much can YOU pay? A&E charges would speed NHS privatisation
Osborne wants a ‘year of hard truths’. Here’s one: He’s HIDING the truth
Was Stephanie Bottrill a victim of corporate manslaughter?