A HEALTHY diet is a luxury that many of the North-East's low-income families simply cannot afford, according to a new survey.

The report, Going Hungry, reveals that lack of money sometimes makes it impossible for parents to feed their children healthily and almost half said they had gone short of food in the past year to feed their family.

Children's charity NCH, which commissioned the research, said some parents were so desperate for money to feed their children they had considered doing something illegal.

Over the past 15 years, the average cost of a healthy shopping basket has increased by 50 per cent compared with a 33 per cent increase for an unhealthy basket.

In the North-East, a region which has traditionally suffered poor health and a poor diet, a healthy basket costs £21.71 compared to £17.85 for the unhealthy equivalent - a difference of 22 per cent.

The researchers also found that many families had diets of poor nutritional value. More than 28 per cent of children and 25 per cent of parents never ate green vegetables or salad.

Caroline Abrahams, NCH's director of public policy, said: "It is right to be concerned about rising levels of childhood obesity, but NCH's report shows that it's unfair to place all the blame on parents and children.

"The comparatively high cost of healthy food and the sophisticated marketing used to encourage children to eat junk food, are also significant factors."

NCH called for action in schools, the community and the food industry to make healthy food affordable to low-income families and to do more to put healthy food within the reach of children.

Tim Lobstein, the report's author and director of the Food Commission, added: "For the poorest families, things are getting worse, with the cost of healthier foods rising faster than inflation while junk food remains cheap and widely available."

The report comes ahead of the completion of the Government's consultation process - Choosing Health? - which is due to conclude at the end of the month.

The responses to the consultation will contribute towards a Government White Paper on public health later in the summer.

NCH said the consultation and White Paper needed to look seriously at how to make healthy food more affordable to families on low incomes.