But if that is the case, it’s a question of corporate manipulation rather than genuine economics – given that a new study reveals that some of Europe’s poorest nations consume less of the most harmful foods than we do here in Britain.
The research by Public Health Nutrition looked into what percentage of household purchases consisted of Ultra-Processed Food (UPF) – which everyone now agrees is the route to poor health outcomes.
Shockingly it found that there was only one nation in the entire continent where more than half of the food bought fell into this category.
No prizes for guessing which country: our own, of course.
In the UK, one of the Europe’s richest nations albeit also one of its most unequal, 50.7pc of all food bought was a UPF.
By contrast in Greece, which one of the continent’s least affluent countries, just 13.7pc of food consumed was UPF.
In Portugal the figure was 10.2pc; in France 14.2pc.
Is it any wonder we have an obesity crisis, an epidemic of cardiovascular and gastro-intestinal disease, and that we are pretty much the only country in Europe where the average life expectancy is actually falling?
There can be no argument that this is a tragedy for Britain; our unhealthy diet, and in particular our addiction to UPFs, is an epidemic of illness waiting to happen.
Because UPFs are high in added sugars, unhealthy fats, salt and artificial chemicals, their consumption is linked to obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure.
It’s not just physical health either.
Research suggests links between high intake and increased risk of depression, anxiety and cognitive decline, with emulsifiers and artificial sweeteners negatively affecting our gut microbiome, which pays a huge role in both our physical and our mental wellbeing.
So what is the reason for our country being so much more addicted to these damaging foodstuffs than anywhere else in Europe?
Perhaps it is cultural, given our individualistic lifestyle and seeming allergy to cooking and eating communally.
Certainly those countries where there is a tradition of extended families sitting down and eating together seem to be more immune to these ‘Frankenstein foods’.
Some blame the marketers, pointing to the huge advertising spend designed to promote UPFs, which are inherently more profitable for the manufacturers than real food.
But we all have self-control, we all know really that we shouldn’t be eating this rubbish, we can all choose to ignore the marketing noise.
Take some responsibility, but a cookbook, make an effort.
And then there is the oft-quoted reason that eating healthily is more expensive than stuffing ourselves with UPF junk.
Undoubtedly this is an issue, particularly as supermarkets push deals to encourage us to choose the unhealthy option.
But equally, unprocessed food is available cheaply – you just need to make a bit more of an effort to cook it.
Perhaps there is a role for government to play here, either by reflecting the huge increase in future costs to the NHS of all of the UPF rubbish by taxing it at a higher rate to encourage us to buy real food, or by funding proper cooking classes in schools (and indeed for adults) to equip everybody with the skills they need to feed themselves properly and healthily.
And certainly as a country we need to take steps to tackle the desperate inequality which in the end makes us all poorer – that can only be done at a societal level.
But we have to take some responsibility ourselves. We have to make an effort to emulate those financially poorer but socially so-much richer countries which value community and family above self and wealth.
In the end, the shocking figure of 50.7pc of the UK’s food being UPFs comes down to a lack of effort to do better.
Yes, you have to learn how to cook.
Yes, you have to spend more time in the kitchen. Yes, you have to learn to resist the marketing messages.
In other words, you have to take responsibility for your own actions. Why is that so hard in today’s me me me Britain?