CHEAP ULTRA-PROCESSED FOODS FUELLING SA’S OBESITY CRISIS
Foods high in sugar, salt, and saturated fat make up 40% of diets of adults in South African adults with low income. These foods are widely available in low-income areas and are cheaper than healthier, whole food alternatives.
According to a recent study led by Dr Tamryn Frank, an obesity prevention researcher at the University of Western Cape, ultra-processed foods are easy to prepare, tasty, affordable and they have a long shelf life.
But the cost of convenience is high. It’s estimated that overweight and obesity cost the country R 33 194 million or 15,38% of the country’s health budget in 2020.
“These products can lead to severe problems such as obesity, overweight, cancer, and heart diseases,” said Frank during a webinar hosted by the advocacy organisation Heala last week.
Frank said the impact of highly processed foods are more severe on children. Parents should pay attention to what they give their children, despite the challenges that they may face.
“The longer a person consumes them, the risks of being obese and having heart diseases and cancer increases,” she said.
South Africa has seen a drastic increase in non-communicable disease over the past 20 years, with cases rising from 103 428 in 1997 to 164 205 in 2018.
This increase is driven by the high number of people who are overweight and obese. In South Africa 31% of men and 68% of women are obese, 13% of children are obese or overweight.
MALNUTRITION AND HUNGER
At the same time, eight million of the 21 million children in the country go hungry every day, according to a 2023 report by the Children’s Institute at the University of Cape Town. The report found that the child support grant, which at the time was R500, wasn’t enough to protect poor children from hunger and the effects of malnutrition like stunting where children are too short for their age.
“The increase of R20 or R50 in child support grants is an insult to South Africans,” said Petronell Kruger, Heala’s programmes manager.
Kruger said the government should increase the child support grant so that people can afford nutritious food. In addition, the government should subsidise all healthy food, and support locally produced healthy food products.
“We need enabling policies that ensure that people can have enough money to purchase food,” she added. “The government should also increase taxation on unhealthy products.”
LASTING IMPACT OF MALNUTRITION
According to Dr Edzani Mphaphuli, a public health specialist and head of the Grow Great campaign to end stunting in children, over 1,5 million children are stunted because of not getting enough nutritious food.
“Stunted children are likely to struggle to learn in school.
“These children fail to also reach their physical and cognitive potential,” she added.
Stunting is a serious problem not only for children, guardians and households, but also for society as a whole and it should be taken seriously.