Imperial College London
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ProfessorChristopherMillett

Faculty of Medicine, School of Public Health

Professor of Public Health
 
 
 
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Contact

 

c.millett Website

 
 
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Location

 

Reynolds BuildingCharing Cross Campus

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Summary

 

Publications

Citation

BibTex format

@article{Parnham:2021:10.1186/s12889-021-12222-5,
author = {Parnham, J and Millett, C and Chang, K and Laverty, A and von, Hinke S and Pearson-Stuttard, J and Vamos, E},
doi = {10.1186/s12889-021-12222-5},
journal = {BMC Public Health},
pages = {1--11},
title = {Is the Healthy Start scheme associated with increased food expenditure in low-income families with young children in the United Kingdom?},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-12222-5},
volume = {21},
year = {2021}
}
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RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)

TY  - JOUR
AB  - Introduction: Healthy Start is a food assistance programme in the United Kingdom (UK) which aims to provide a nutritional safety-net and enable low-income families on welfare benefits to access a healthier diet through the provision of food vouchers. Healthy Start was launched in 2006 but remains under-evaluated. This study aims to determine whether participation in the Healthy Start scheme is associated with differences in food expenditure in a nationally representative sample of households in the UK. Methods: Cross-sectional analyses of the Living Costs and Food Survey dataset (2010-2017). All households with a child (0-3 years) or pregnant woman were included in the analysis (n=4,869). Multivariable quantile regression compared the expenditure and quantity of fruit and vegetables (FV), infant formula and total food purchases. Four exposure groups were defined based on eligibility, participation and income (Healthy Start Participating, Eligible Non-participating, Nearly Eligible low-income and Ineligible high-income households).Results: Of 876 eligible households, 54% participated in Healthy Start. No significant differences were found in FV or total food purchases between participating and eligible non-participating households, but infant formula purchases were lower in Healthy Start participating households. Ineligible higher-income households had higher purchases of FV. Conclusion: This study did not find evidence of an association between Healthy Start participation and FV expenditure. Moreover, inequalities in FV purchasing persist in the UK. Higher participation and increased voucher value may be needed to improve programme performance and counteract the harmful effects of poverty on diet.
AU  - Parnham,J
AU  - Millett,C
AU  - Chang,K
AU  - Laverty,A
AU  - von,Hinke S
AU  - Pearson-Stuttard,J
AU  - Vamos,E
DO  - 10.1186/s12889-021-12222-5
EP  - 11
PY  - 2021///
SN  - 1471-2458
SP  - 1
TI  - Is the Healthy Start scheme associated with increased food expenditure in low-income families with young children in the United Kingdom?
T2  - BMC Public Health
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-12222-5
UR  - https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-021-12222-5
UR  - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/92948
VL  - 21
ER  -
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