Effects of Poverty on the Individual

• Malnutrition: Poverty drives people into poor housing and living conditions. due to the lack of money and wealth, they are not able to afford the basic nutrients required for survival such as food and water and hence it leads to them become under nourished. In the UK 3 million people are malnourished. 

• Depression: one in four people in the UK will feel some sort of mental health issues during the course of the year, and this may be as a result of paying the hefty bills and other costs incurred when running a family. For those who are impoverished, this worry will be greater and therefore this could lead to depression and possibly suicide. In the UK suicide rates stand at 400 people per 100,000.

• Crime: Criminal activity increase as a result of relative poverty and absolute poverty, as people may steal of commit crimes as it is their only way to make money and survive. Or they may steal to help bridge that gap between the rich and the poor themselves. 

• Social Exclusion: As a consequence of poverty an individual may find that they are excluded from the rest of community. It leads to some with particularly low incomes being alienated and separate mainly due to their level of income. In the UK the average adult has a 22.7% chance of falling in to the trap of social exclusion.