The number of people being admitted to hospital in England because of vitamin and mineral deficienices is soaring according to government data.

In 2023-24, there were a shocking 191,927 admissions where the main reason was a lack of iron and 6,120 admissions where B vitamin deficiencies were the main cause.

When looking at patients admitted for any reason, but also recorded as having a vitamin deficiency, there were a further 804,936 people with an iron deficiency and 265,237 with a B vitamin deficiency. Add to this 486 cases of vitamin C deficiency and 773 cases where calcium was lacking.

According to the Royal College of GPs this is a health consequence of deprivation: the price of healthy, fresh food is soaring, while fast food is cheap, filling and easy to access.

Liz Terry, editor of HCM said: “Our sector has a huge role to play in educating people about nutrition and we believe this should be a major focus for operators over the next five years.

“We want to see sound advice about nutrition being made available across all channels in the industry and are calling on the sector to respond to this shocking news with action that puts us at the heart of the solution.

“This must include getting our own house in order, with a review of F&B operations to ensure we’re offering healthy, nutritionally balanced options that are up to date with the latest guidelines.”