Despite a sharp rise in food inflation, U.K. families are spending 8.5 percent less on food today than what they did before the financial crisis; but the savings had been mostly due to a switch in consumption to cheaper, less healthy choices, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) on Monday.

The IFS's research found that food prices rose by 33 percent between 2007 and 2013; yet somehow the average household food expenditure fell to just $148.61 a month from 2010-2012, compared to $162.46 in the two years earlier.

Studying the spending habits of 15,850 adults, the IFS concluded that families had cut the cost of their food bills by spending less on fresh produce - filling up on cheaper processed foods instead.

"Over the recession, households have responded to higher food prices and the squeezes on their incomes by switching to cheaper calories," said Kate Smith, a research economist at the IFS, to the Financial Times.

"This has coincided with a fall in the nutritional quality of foods purchased, with moves away from fresh fruit and vegetables and towards processed foods. As a result, the average saturated fat and sugar content of food purchases has increased over this period," she added.

The IFS expressed concern that the change in consumption habits may result in long-term implications. Families with children were prone to switching to more sugary food, while pensioners favoured food high in saturated fat, the study showed. Both groups often have lower incomes.

Martin O'Connell, another author, noted: "Links between food purchases and diet-related health problems such as obesity are complex.

"Understanding these links involves considering other aspects of people's lifestyles and the influence of economic conditions on people's decision-making."

The report was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and the European Research Council. It will be presented as part of the Economic and Social Research Council's Festival of Social Science in London.

Economy Watch