At the spa, teens can learn about the importance of not skipping meals, having enough carbohydrates in their diets, or not drinking too much soda.

FORBES: Teenage Weight Land

About 200 lone parents at the charity Fife Gingerbread, who took part in the study, reported skipping meals to ensure their children had enough to eat.

BBC: young girl sitting near railings

"(Journaling) helps them recognize where they might be missing out and skipping meals, or going too long in between meals and therefore leading to overeating at subsequent meals, " she said.

CNN: Journaling helps woman lose half her body weight

So even if they didn't notice that she was missing meals or skipping meals, they could see the stress that this was bringing upon the family, just having to worry about food.

NPR: Child Hunger: Nutritious Food Tough To Afford

It draws on earlier research from Save the Children which detailed the effects of poverty on UK children's wellbeing, with parents cutting back on food (61%), skipping meals (26%), not replacing children's outgrown shoes (19%) and winter coats (14%), missing school trips (19%) and having to borrow to make ends meet (80%).

BBC: Campaign reveals 'wide disparity' in UK child poverty

Well after the financial help and hand-holding had stopped, the families of those who had been randomly chosen for the Bandhan programme were eating 15% more, earning 20% more each month and skipping fewer meals than people in a comparison group.

ECONOMIST: Free exchange