Quids In! readers were first to receive a taster of forthcoming findings from the magazine’s Financial Resilience Survey, run as a reader survey in December 2013, which confirmed other research that price rises, welfare reform and public spending cuts are damaging their health.

Although the full Survey report won’t be complete until late Spring, the Social Publishing Project, which produces Quids in! magazine once a quarter, wanted readers to be the first to hear the headlines, in February:

“Initial results from the 2013 Quids In! reader survey reveal a shocking picture of worsening health among people struggling to make ends meet. In 2011, one in five (21%) readers told us they had become physically ill due to money worries. In 2013, this figure rocketed to more than one in four (27%), an increase of 28 per cent.

More people also reported becoming anxious and depressed. A little short of half of all readers (45%) had told us three years ago that their mental health had suffered, but this group has grown to 47%. If this trend continues, the issue will affect the majority of readers in the next three years unless more help is made available.

Explaining reasons behind ill health, readers felt unable to eat properly and keep themselves warm. Ten per cent more people have started turning off the heating despite being cold with almost half of our readers (48%) in that position. 11% more people are skipping meals to make ends meet, with over one in three people now going hungry (36%) for fear of not being able to afford to pay bills.

In 2011, few people had heard of Food Banks. Now one in 12 readers are using food banks. One in five people are considering turning to them in future. Only forty per cent said they ruled out using Food Banks in future even though a quarter of these also told us they are already skipping meals. A full study of all the survey’s findings is underway and a report is due to be published in late Spring.”