The rising cost of living is turning us into an unhealthy nation, with 60 per cent of Brits claiming they cannot afford the extra costs involved in being healthy, research shows.

A study from insurer PruHealth reveals one in five Brits (22 per cent) feel they are not following diets that are as nutritionally balanced as they would like due to the rising cost of living.

In addition, a third (32 per cent) of Brits also feeling that cost is a barrier to participating in exercise.

Katie Roswell, marketing director for PruHealth, said: “Our research shows that people’s buying habits are clearly beginning to change as food costs rise and inflation increases.

“The worry is that the progression from credit to health crunch may worsen as people reduce outgoings by buying less fruit and vegetables, and continue to believe that all exercise is expensive.”

However, despite the financial pressures of the current economic climate, holidays are still important to one in five Brits (21 per cent).

Furthermore, many Brits (14 per cent) have found free ways of working out and taking regular exercise, and with a bit of shopping around there are also healthy produce options in the shops that have stabilised or come down in price in the past six months.