People are eating less healthily and cutting down on exercise and socialising due to the cost of living, according to this report based on a YouGov poll of 2366 people from across the UK.
- Budgets and finance
- Current affairs
- Government and public services
- Hannah Paylor and Amy Baker, Carnegie UK
- 26 April 2023
- ISBN: 978-1-912908-86-8
- 3 minute read
The Long Shadow of the Cost of Living Emergency urged new government support for struggling households, warning the long-term impact of these trends may be more expensive for the public purse than short-term help.
34% of people in the UK aren’t eating as healthily, while 16% have cut down on regular exercise.
35% of people say the crisis has limited their ability to spend time with friends, while 24% say the same about family.
50% of people say that the cost of living emergency has limited their ability to participate in leisure activities (e.g. eating out or going to the cinema).
56% of people in the UK think the Government is offering too little support to help people through the rising cost of living.
In February 2023, Carnegie UK commissioned YouGov to undertake a poll of more than 2000 adults across the UK about the wider impact of the cost-of-living crisis.
The study urged new government support for struggling households, warning the long-term impact of these trends may be more expensive for the public purse than short-term help.
The research found that the cost-of-living emergency was negatively affecting a majority of people in the UK’s ability to manage financially.
According to the research a third of adults said rising costs mean they can’t eat as healthily, while 16 per cent say the crisis means they’re exercising less regularly.
The research also warned that rising costs means people are cutting back on social and leisure activities. About a third of people say the crisis hit their ability to spend time with friends, while a quarter said the same about family.
People’s long-term life prospects are also at risk, the study shows. About one in six adults said that the cost of living emergency had a negative impact on their performance at work or education.
I’m freezing cold to the point of feeling ill, persistently checking my outgoings to the point of obsession, and sitting at home in the dark, quite miserable. I can barely afford food and medicine, and even though I am ill, I am scared to turn on the heating. We have to find money to travel to hospital which means we have to eat from the food bank.
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