Kingston residents are buying more junk food, booze and cigarettes during the recession and cutting back on their fruit and veg, a study of shopping habits has found.

The findings have raised concerns that Kingston’s success as a low-obesity borough could be on the wane and bad habits are creeping in.

An analysis of online shopping habits by website mysupermarket.co.uk, found that tobacco sales had rocketed by 72 per cent in the past two years, with money spent on junk food and ready meals increasing by 47 per cent and 44 per cent respectively. Fruit and vegetable sales dropped by 11 per cent.

Norbiton independent Councillor Sheila Griffin, who has an interest in health issues, said: “It raises alarm bells with me. It’s very worrying the amount of drink that’s being bought, especially the cheap brands.

“I believe that with a lot of the nightlife in Kingston, people are already drinking at home and are fairly drunk before they even get there.”

She said obesity was a growing problem nationally, and said she would be interested to see a breakdown by ward of the shopping habits.

She said: “People from leafy Kingston Hill are probably eating good food and lots of vegetables but people in the poorer areas are more likely to eat junk food and low price alcohol.”

The Department of Health’s 2009 borough profile for Kingston showed 17.3 per cent of adults were obese, a drop from 2007 and well below the national average of 26.6 per cent.

About 21 per cent of Kingston adults smoke, according to a health survey for England, slightly below the national average of 24 per cent.

A spokesman from NHS Kingston said it was investing in many projects to promote healthier lifestyles, including the Chef’s Club healthy eating course in schools, discounts on Rosemary Conley weight loss programmes, and free stop smoking services.

It also invested £15,000 this year on Cook and Eat courses, which teach adults in deprived areas how to cook healthily on a budget.

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