Home-working could threaten war on obesity as calorie intake rises across the UK

90% of UK households increased calorie intake during lockdowns

Consumers have relied more on takeaways during lockdown (Getty Images)

Working from home during the coronavirus pandemic has contributed to a “large and sustained” increase of calorie intake across the UK, according to new research.

Nine in 10 households increased their calorie intake during lockdowns, according to a study by the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS), which compiled data based on millions of food and non-alcoholic drink purchases from stores, takeaways, and restaurants.

Calorie intake peaked at 15 per cent higher than normal levels over the three months after the start of the first lockdown in March 2020, as people turned to cooking and baking with restaurants closed.

It remained 10 per cent higher than normal at the end of the year consumers relied more on takeaways, researchers said.

Overall, 90 per cent of households increased their calorie intake, including wealthier families and a relatively young working-age population. The increase was less pronounced among the retired.

Martin O’Connell, deputy research director at the IFS and an author of the research, said: “An important question for policymakers is whether higher calorie consumption persists as we emerge from the pandemic.”

He added the findings showed a direct correlation between increased home working and higher calorie consumption and warned the trend could exacerbate the challenge of improving population diet and reducing obesity levels.

Mark Franks, director of welfare at the Nuffield Foundation, said the rise in calorie consumption reinforced the need to address systemic issues such as the cost of a healthy diet compared to eating junk food.

“The pandemic has had significant impacts on both physical and mental health, spread unequally across society,” Mr Franks said.

“It also should not distract from the significant minority who have struggled to access food throughout the pandemic, as evidenced by increased use of food banks and concerns over lack of access to free school meals,” he added.

Between 1 April last year and 31 March 2021, food banks in the Trussell Trust’s UK wide network distributed 2.5 million emergency food parcels to people in crisis, a 33 per cent increase on the previous year. Of these, 980,000 went to children.