Food affordability, does it always lead to healthy food choices?

However, choosing to eat healthy and nutritious food, important as it may seem is not as simple as one might think, and affordability is not the obvious answer. As already mentioned, it’s important to keep in mind that other factors do play a role.

The ever-increasing risk of major Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) such as Type 2 Diabetes, Heart diseases, stroke, certain cancers, and obesity can greatly be reduced by eating adequate fruits and vegetables together with other nutritious food items.

Beside affordability, several other factors such as accessibility, taste, and personal behaviours can influence ability and willingness to make healthy food choices. Affordability

It is without a doubt that food need to be affordable for individuals to access it. It is almost impossible to follow health promotion recommendations if individuals don’t have the financial capacity to buy healthy food items.

People who live in neighbourhoods which don’t provide affordable healthy foods are likely to eat nonnutritious foods. It is, however, important to point out that the relationship between affordability of food and the willingness to choose nutritious food is much more complicated than one might imagine. Here is why. First, most studies have shown very limited link between the two. There are however certain factors related to affordability that may play a secondary role. For example, low-income households tend to buy groceries from shops that offer lower prices. Usually, these foods are starches that are high in calories leading to obesity and heart diseases. These households also tend to lack transport, limiting their food choices to local shops and supermarkets regardless of the quality of the food available.

Second, low-income households also tend to have low education levels making them vulnerable to manipulative marketing ploys used by supermarkets to sell unhealthy junk foods. Conversely, highly educated consumers tend to make more informed and independent decisions about the food items they buy.

Third, unhealthy sugary and calory dense foods tend to be priced cheaply and conveniently placed near check-outs in supermarkets to encourage impulsive buying. Offering affordable prices for healthy foods relative to unhealthy food items and actively promote them can encourage consumers spend their limited budgets on healthy foods than unhealthy ones.

Fourth, sometimes, individual behaviour can override the desire for good health. For example, a middle-aged man who has enough money to buy fruits and vegetables will probably buy meat and use the rest of his change to buy beer on his way home and ignoring the need for fruits and vegetables in his diet.

Grocery shops need to create environments that educate the consumers on healthy food choices and motivate positive healthy behaviours choices during shopping. Nutritious food items should be promoted, made available and affordable. ..Continues next week

Dr Elijah Sivako is an Accident & Emergency Doctor at Princess Marina Hospital.Contacts: 73594189, elijahsv@ gmail.com

Disclaimer: The author writes in his personal capacity. The views of the author do not represent the opinions or views his employer.