Malnutrition in England

My children are better cooks than me. All are parents and all work.Not sure that this relates in any way to malnutrition.

growstuff

People seem to be ignoring the fact that most people who are hospitalised for malnutrition (and there doesn't seem to be data about those who aren't hospitalised) are middle-aged or older.

I think 'people' are ignoring a great deal in their rush to blame poor purchasing and cookery skills! Most noticeably the fact that the malnutrition is occurring at higher levels in the virtuous groups who know all about nutrition and cooking from scratch (i.e, us and our impeccably raised children 😆)

Perhaps they should look at the figures in the link you posted.

Of course, it couldn't be anything to do with increasing poverty brought on by 'austerity' measures since 2010, could it?

Anyone ever tried polenta which has been around since Roman times? Made from corn and can be served in various ways. Also available as instant polenta as real polenta can be a hazard to cook as it erupts. Fairly cheap too.
The constant erosion of our human initiative and dependence on the government of the day is beginning to be very depressing. Do we have any self determination left?

Still, I don't agree that it's all due to bad choices, ignorance and laziness.

What I see is a society with increased levels of poverty, isolation, mental health issues, substance abuse, homelessness etc. - along with a lack of available care, NHS services, community help, others (family, neighbours) with time, energy and resources to monitor wellbeing. All in a very rich country - what a disgrace!

(and) the only person I know who was hospitalised - with a dangerous electrolyte imbalance - was a friend's daughter, a mother of two, who'd been on a diet, severely restricting her food intake - until she collapsed. She was normal weight to start with, yet convinced that she needed a drastic change to be attractive.

Hetty58

Still, I don't agree that it's all due to bad choices, ignorance and laziness.

What I see is a society with increased levels of poverty, isolation, mental health issues, substance abuse, homelessness etc. - along with a lack of available care, NHS services, community help, others (family, neighbours) with time, energy and resources to monitor wellbeing. All in a very rich country - what a disgrace!

That's what I'm seeing, Hetty, particularly the increasing levels of poverty.

It's frustrating that what most people seem to see is bad cooks 😆

I agree Hetty58, but poverty seems to be the price we're willing to pay to ensure some can live comfortably or even with great wealth.
We could make our country more equal but the will doesn't seem to be there.

Hetty58 which country? England has lost its global position and is no longer a very rich country.

I already said I don’t think being able to cook or not probably has little to do with malnutrition. My mother was a perfectly good cook but in her last 2/3 years she lost three stone. The loss was accelerated in her last year. A lady who was 13 shone at her heaviest ( I know, she was overweight then) was only 9 stone when she died. She was old, she didn’t want to cook, and in the last year, refused to eat the nice meals she was offered in her care home. I’ve no doubt she was suffering from malnutrition when she died, but she was uninterested in food.

Hetty58

Still, I don't agree that it's all due to bad choices, ignorance and laziness.

What I see is a society with increased levels of poverty, isolation, mental health issues, substance abuse, homelessness etc. - along with a lack of available care, NHS services, community help, others (family, neighbours) with time, energy and resources to monitor wellbeing. All in a very rich country - what a disgrace!

Exactly. There's not going to be only one cause, but at the end of the day, it is still an utter disgrace than anyone should be suffering from malnutrition in this country in 2023.

Blondiescot

Hetty58

Still, I don't agree that it's all due to bad choices, ignorance and laziness.

What I see is a society with increased levels of poverty, isolation, mental health issues, substance abuse, homelessness etc. - along with a lack of available care, NHS services, community help, others (family, neighbours) with time, energy and resources to monitor wellbeing. All in a very rich country - what a disgrace!

Exactly. There's not going to be only one cause, but at the end of the day, it is still an utter disgrace than anyone should be suffering from malnutrition in this country in 2023.

I agree with both of you. It is shameful, and we should be holding the government to account.

Greta

I went to a girls' grammar school. I realise now how thorough our cookery classes were. First we sat down and analysed what we were going to cook and if it provided us with all the nutrients. Then we were sent out to buy the ingredients and cost them.
Finally we cooked our dinner, sat down and ate it. A cooking lesson lasted all afternoon. I was not impressed with the home economics classes my daughter had in secondary school. She is a good cook though. Possibly because she has always seen me cooking from scratch.

I never thought anything of school lessons until recent years, I assumed everyone learned the same, except no religion and no mostly sweet nuns.

I assume anyone can read a recipe, I try new recipes often.

Doodledog

Blondiescot

Hetty58

Still, I don't agree that it's all due to bad choices, ignorance and laziness.

What I see is a society with increased levels of poverty, isolation, mental health issues, substance abuse, homelessness etc. - along with a lack of available care, NHS services, community help, others (family, neighbours) with time, energy and resources to monitor wellbeing. All in a very rich country - what a disgrace!

Exactly. There's not going to be only one cause, but at the end of the day, it is still an utter disgrace than anyone should be suffering from malnutrition in this country in 2023.

I agree with both of you. It is shameful, and we should be holding the government to account.

Indeed. However, I don't believe any 'holding government to account' will happen in my lifetime - entrenched madness.

No, I fear you are right, Norah.

I think it goes way beyond what is taught in school. I wasn't allowed to do cookery, as (honestly!) girls doing O levels had to do Housecraft instead, and that involved daft things like setting breakfast trays (putting a tray runner or doily on a tray with a bud vase, a cup of tea and some toast and marmalade ). The nearest I got to 'cookery' was making chocolate Krispie cakes. I taught myself to cook, as my mum didn't like people in the kitchen when she was busy, but I enjoy cooking now, as does my husband and as do both of my children. No thanks to school, though.

I don't know about all causes of malnutrition , but I think that some people have lives that are more limited than those in other circumstances imagine. If you live on an estate miles from a supermarket, have no car and one expensive bus an hour, you won't have access to a lot of food choices. If you left school at 16 and have made no friendships since, you will be surrounded by others in the same situation, and will learn from them how to feed your children and so on. Even TV chefs might seem not to be 'people like us', and their suggestions of using balsamic vinegar and chopping fresh herbs could be off-putting. The local Spar might have three pizzas for a fiver and if that's what you were given as a child, and that's what your friends are giving their children, and you can't afford to go to the supermarket until the end of the month, then of course you will buy them, particularly if the only fresh food on offer is some bendy carrots and a couple of wrinkled apples.

Obviously that is a generalisation, and there will be many people who overcome all sorts of obstacles and eat very well.

ronib

Anyone ever tried polenta which has been around since Roman times? Made from corn and can be served in various ways. Also available as instant polenta as real polenta can be a hazard to cook as it erupts. Fairly cheap too.
The constant erosion of our human initiative and dependence on the government of the day is beginning to be very depressing. Do we have any self determination left?

I assume we all eat polenta, no?

Easy, fast, cheap, great side. Good Italian peasant food.

I assume we all eat polenta, no?

No. Never assume anything!

Norah doesn’t need to be a side. Can be made either soft or hard in texture. Hard polenta can be sliced and then layered with a variety of fillings-tomato, mince etc.
The point is that poverty has been around for a long time and it is not new. Some resilience and stubbornness seems to be a characteristic in families who have known hardship. I don’t think it helps to become psychologically dependent on ‘the State’. Might not have explained too well but hopefully not misinterpreted!

I might investigate as an alternative to porridge.

Doodledog If you left school at 16 and have made no friendships since, you will be surrounded by others in the same situation, and will learn from them how to feed your children and so on. Even TV chefs might seem not to be 'people like us', and their suggestions of using balsamic vinegar and chopping fresh herbs could be off-putting.

I left school at 16, live far out in country, fed my children as mum fed us - I follow your thesis and do suppose some may learn only from friends. Sad, really, if your fiends can't cook.

Interesting idea - not all use brown vinegar, mum used 4 sorts of vinegar and I use 8. Polenta too, apparently not everyone uses (who knew).

I've had polenta once. I thought it was revolting and it's full of carbs and nothing much else.

Callistemon21

^I assume we all eat polenta, no?^

No. Never assume anything!

Well, you know what they say about assume...makes an ass out of u and me!

ronib

Norah doesn’t need to be a side. Can be made either soft or hard in texture. Hard polenta can be sliced and then layered with a variety of fillings-tomato, mince etc.
The point is that poverty has been around for a long time and it is not new. Some resilience and stubbornness seems to be a characteristic in families who have known hardship. I don’t think it helps to become psychologically dependent on ‘the State’. Might not have explained too well but hopefully not misinterpreted!

I use it mostly as side - under foods, or sliced/fried under main.

Or in breakfast dishes. However, that's best, I think, with parm and we don't eat cheese any longer. Parm was the cheese I could tolerate and it is quite nice in polenta, in my opinion,

growstuff

I've had polenta once. I thought it was revolting and it's full of carbs and nothing much else.

I don’t like it either.

ronib

Anyone ever tried polenta which has been around since Roman times? Made from corn and can be served in various ways. Also available as instant polenta as real polenta can be a hazard to cook as it erupts. Fairly cheap too.
The constant erosion of our human initiative and dependence on the government of the day is beginning to be very depressing. Do we have any self determination left?

I’ve bought polenta several times but have never used it! With my zero waste policy I daren’t risk buying it again.

I make Polenta with Tapenade.

Tasty, easy, polenta/veg side. Good carb-loading for exercise.

Similar to recipe that follows, apart from fresh tomatoes (we grow ours).

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/polenta-bruschetta-tapenade