Shoppers are more likely to select unhealthy food when it is discounted – study

Supermarket sales really do make us buy more unhealthy food, a new study has revealed, the Daily Mail reports.

It found while shops promote both healthy and unhealthy foods equally, people are more likely to buy unhealthy food when it is discounted.

A 10 per cent rise in promotions for unhealthy foods saw sales shoot up by 35 per cent.

In comparison, the same promotion increase for healthy foods led to only a 20 per cent sales rise.

Researchers said the findings could be because people stockpile unhealthy frozen meals, whereas this cannot be done with perishable health foods such as fruit and veg.

And, contrary to popular belief, it's well-off people who respond to price promotions, rather than those from disadvantaged backgrounds, the study showed.

This is because they have less money to spend upfront on products to benefit from the saving and less space in their homes to stockpile them, researchers said.

The news comes after the World Health Organisation warned obesity has more than doubled since 1980.

In 2014, more than 1.9 billion adults were overweight - 39 per cent of the global population.

Of these over 600 million were obese, 13 per cent of people worldwide.