UNICEF has stated that urban poverty is primarily found in squatter settlements. At present 13·5% of all South African households live in informal settlements. The major research question is to what extent does poverty influence the food, nutrition and health of informal-settlement dwellers. The purpose of the present study was to determine the depth of poverty in this community and to measure the possible effect that planned food and nutrition interventions may have on eliminating poverty in this area. Pre-tested questionnaires were administered to 340 randomly-selected caregivers. A validated quantified FFQ was administered by trained enumerators as the test measurement for dietary intake and food consumption patterns and 24 h recall was used as the reference measurement, and the data were analysed. A poverty model was used to measure the impact of extra income on the poverty levels of 190 households. Of the respondents 89% lived in Zn shacks and the average household size was 4·9 individuals. The unemployment rate was 94·2% for respondents and 64·9% for their partners. The majority of households (68·8%) had an income of <R 500 (£35) per month and 58·3% spent <R 100 (£6·90) per week on food. The average poverty gap was R 1342·21 (£93) and the poverty gap ratio was 56%. The poverty model showed that an increase of R 500 (£35) in monthly household income results in a poverty gap ratio of 35%. The poverty model confirmed that the impact of food and nutrition interventions on poverty can be measured and that when planning these interventions the model could be used to measure their feasibility. The results indicate that this community is poverty-stricken and has chronic food insecurity, and they will be used to facilitate planning and implementation of sustainable income-generating community-based interventions to promote urban food security and alleviate poverty in this community.

Information on the perceived difficulties in trying to eat a healthier diet is important in assisting those in nutrition education devise more effective programmes. The objective of this study was to determine the main perceived barriers that people have in trying to eat a healthy diet in the 15 member states of the European Union (EU). A cross-sectional study in which quota-controlled nationally representative samples of approximately 1000 adults (15 years upwards) from each member state completed a face-to-face interview-assisted questionnaire. The most frequently mentioned perceived barriers to healthy eating concerned time and taste factors. Time-related factors were more important for younger respondents and those with a higher level of education, who appear to regard taste as being compromised by healthy eating. Variation exists both between member states and between demographic groups in the frequency of barriers mentioned. A lack of knowledge about healthy eating was not selected by many as an important barrier. A major obstacle to nutrition education is the fact that 70 % of EU subjects believe their diets are already healthy. It may be that nutrition educators should concentrate on showing consumers how to evaluate their own diet appropriately in terms of fat, fibre, and fruit and vegetables. Food-based guidelines may be useful in this endeavour.