{"id":15528,"date":"2020-06-23T23:36:22","date_gmt":"2020-06-23T23:36:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/?p=15528"},"modified":"2022-02-27T22:52:45","modified_gmt":"2022-02-27T22:52:45","slug":"are-1-in-4-ni-adults-now-at-risk-of-hunger-and-malnutrition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/topics\/health\/are-1-in-4-ni-adults-now-at-risk-of-hunger-and-malnutrition\/","title":{"rendered":"Are 1 in 4 NI adults ‘now at risk of hunger and malnutrition’?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This claim is unsubstantiated. The research behind the News Letter headline was conducted across the UK and the results were not broken down by region, so this UK finding cannot be applied to Northern Ireland without further area-specific evidence.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A headline in a News Letter article published on Tuesday, 23 June 2020, on page 11 of the newspaper and online<\/a>, claimed that \u201cOne in in [sic] four NI adults \u2018now at risk of hunger and malnutrition\u2019\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sub-headline underneath elaborated: \u201cOne in four adults across NI have struggled to access affordable food under lockdown and are now susceptible to hunger and malnutrition, a UK-wide survey has found.\u201d
The newspaper article explained:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThe impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the food security of 25% of the population was determined in research from the charity Feeding Britain and Northumbria University\u2019s Healthy Living Lab. The research, which included people in NI, also found that one in four adults who look after children have eaten less so they can feed the children in their household.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who produced the research?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The News Letter article was based on a short report<\/a> (press release<\/a>) by food poverty charity Feeding Britain<\/a> and Northumbria University\u2019s Healthy Living Lab<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is food security?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The United Nations\u2019 Committee on World Food Security uses these working definitions<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Food security<\/strong> exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food which meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. Household food security is the application of this concept to the family level, with individuals within households as the focus of concern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Food insecurity<\/strong> exists when people do not have adequate physical, social or economic access to food as defined above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The continuum of food security and insecurity is usually broken into four categories<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n