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50% of Elderly Forgo Food to Pay for Heating

by Savitha C Muppala on Dec 17 2011 10:52 PM

 50% of Elderly Forgo Food to Pay for Heating
Recent research has pointed out that 51% of older people are forced to starve in a bid to pay for heating their homes.
A temperature drop of just one degree celsius caused a 2.6% rise in cold-related deaths, mostly among the older lot.

Spokesperson for the Institute of Public Health, Dr Helen McAvoy, said, “And I think it’s very important that the findings of this (fuel poverty) report would be considered within it, and that particular provision is made for older people living alone, those over 75 and in particular older people who have an existing chronic illness or disability, because those groups emerged, in our research, as being particularly vulnerable.”



Source-Medindia


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