King's College London , Department of Nutrition and Dietetics

The Low Income Diet and Nutrition Survey (LIDNS) was commissioned by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and was carried out by three organisations; the Health Research Group at the National Centre for Social Research, the Nutritional Sciences Research Division at King's College London and the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at the Royal Free and University College London Medical School. The survey evaluated eating habits, nourishment and nutrition-related health of people on low income and had many aims.

These aims include providing information concerning food and nutrient intakes; to measure health-related factors associated with diet, such as height, weight and blood pressure; to measure levels of physical activity; to analyse smoking and oral health in relation to diet and to evaluate relationships between diet and the risk of developing diseases.

3,728 people from 2,477 low-income households were included in the survey, having been identified as being within the bottom 15% of the population in terms of material deprivation. Research data was collected via interviews and questionnaires, 24-hour recalls of diet, physical measurements and blood samples. Dr Michael Nelson, senior lecturer at King's College London was Principal Investigator in the national survey of diet in low income households; operations staff, principal programmers and data managers were also based at King's College London. The results were published within Low Income Diet and Nutrition Survey Summary of Key Findings, 2007.