RW - foRWard Health & Wellbeing eMag - May 24 - Flipbook - Page 18
It's costing
more to
live well
Between March 2021 and March 2023,
the price of goods and services rose
substan琀椀ally, marking a period of high
in昀氀a琀椀on. Worryingly, the prices of basic
needs that are important for staying healthy
– nutri琀椀ous food, health care, housing and
u琀椀li琀椀es – rose between 11% and 36%.
Material Hardship
Wealthier households have managed
their higher expenses by cu琀�ng back on
discre琀椀onary spending and dipping into savings.
Food insecurity: Skipping meals or not ea琀椀ng
well because healthy food is too expensive.
However, lower income households spend a
much larger por琀椀on of their income on housing
and other essen琀椀als. Without a savings bu昀昀er,
these households experience severe 昀椀nancial
strain and poor health outcomes.
Deferred healthcare: Having to postpone
necessary medical care.
People facing material hardship can’t meet
their basic needs because they can’t a昀昀ord
to pay for them.
This can manifest in several ways:
Energy poverty: Struggling to keep the lights
|on and the home comfortably warm or cool.
Housing insecurity: Finding it hard to secure
a stable and safe place to live.
For example, food insecurity is linked to
an increased risk of poor nutri琀椀on, obesity
and chronic illness, as households facing
cost-of-living pressures shi昀琀 towards cheaper,
lower-quality food op琀椀ons.
Energy poverty is linked to physical and mental
health problems as people struggle to keep
warm in winter琀椀me, and cool in the summer.
Delaying health care increases the risk of
facing severe health problems, staying in
hospital for longer, and being admi琀琀ed to
the emergency department. This isn’t just
worse for individuals, it’s also far more costly
for our health care system.