Is Croydon the unhealthiest borough in London?

Consumption of beer and cigarettes has doubled in the last two years and junk food sales are up by 40 per cent.

At the same time Croydon residents have cut down on fruit and vegetables by almost a fifth as people choose to spend money on vices rather than eating healthily during the recession.

The study, compiled by online comparison site mysupermarket. co.uk, shows the changes in shopping habits over the last two years.

Tobacco sales in Croydon over the first six months this year have rocketed by 95 per cent and beer purchases have jumped by 102 per cent compared to the same period in 2007.

It is the largest increase of all the London boroughs with the Greater London average only increasing by 26 per cent for tobacco and 28 per cent for beer.

Councillor Maggie Mansell, Labour group spokeswoman for health, said: “We always have to be careful how we interpret statistics, however this survey does suggest a wrong direction of travel.

“Most people know what is a good diet, we must be concerned about the habits set in early years.

“I shall be calling on Croydon Council to review their programme of health promotion with the Croydon NHS at the next council meeting.”

An Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) spokeswoman said: “For the amount spent to double is very alarming and more research is needed over the next year to see if this continues. It is a concern and one we will look at.”

In 2007 the estimated annual cost to the NHS in Croydon of dealing with the diseases related to overweight and obese residents was around £90m. It is expected to rise to about to about £92m in 2010 and £99m in 2015.

A shocking 750 one-year-old babies in Croydon are already obese with a further nearly 3,000 children under the age of five and about 12,000 children under-15s also overweight.

The health authority has launched a £300,000 scheme to combat child obesity to try and deal with the problem.

The initiative called Boost Croydon includes a prevention plan for children under five and a treatment programme for children aged between four and 15 – as well as their families.

Active Boost is due to start this September and will help overweight and obese children lead healthier lifestyles through exercise and nutrition.

An NHS Croydon spokesman said: “These figures are concerning, but we are doing everything we can in Croydon to encourage people to live a healthy lifestyle.

“We are working closely with Croydon Council and others to reduce the number of people who smoke, and to encourage people to drink alcohol sensibly and safely.”

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