Good nutrition getting out of reach

Start them young: The habit of eating healthy needs to be inculcated from a young age, and this can be done by expanding school meal programmes like the Supplementary Food Programme to include fruits and vegetables. — Agencies

EVERY DAY, mother of six Noranna Ariffin will try to include some cucumber and lettuce in her family’s dinner and lunch.

But as far as green goodness goes, those are the only two vegetables she will buy at the market for her choosy family as most of the others are beyond her grocery budget.

“You can still buy cheap leafy vegetables like sawi, kangkung and bayam but my kids are picky eaters and they don’t like those, so I don’t want to waste money,” says the homemaker from Kedah.

As for fruits, she says mangoes are the cheapest where she lives, if they are in season.

“Again my kids are picky, and the other fruits that they like are apples and grapes, which now can be really expensive. So fruits are not something that we have every day.

“I only buy fruits when they are on sale or when sold in bulk at the pasar malam or wholesale market. You can also find good bargains at the pasar tani (farmers’ market) and pasar pagi (morning market) when the fruits are in season, but I can’t go too often as I have no transport if my husband is working,” she says.

According to the Health Ministry, the eating habits of Noranna and her family are becoming the norm in Malaysia.

As it revealed in its recently published National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2023, over 95% of adults in Malaysia do not consume enough fruits and vegetables daily. Instead of the recommended five servings daily, Malaysian adults are generally consuming only two servings a day.

Notably, while there are various reasons why a majority of Malaysians have an unhealthy diet, the high cost of living appears to be one of the growing reasons, especially when it comes to the erratic prices of fresh produce.

Rising issue

While diet choices may seem like a personal decision, the rising cost of food may be overriding choices in many families’ grocery basket.

The prices of vegetables and fruits especially seem to fluctuate due to supply issues caused by the volatile weather and geopolitical tensions.

According to the National Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), inflation in the food and beverages group rose 0.3 percentage points to 2% in April compared with the previous month.

It is important to address Malaysians’ unhealthy eating habits because if left unchecked, it could result in an overtaxed healthcare system and a society low in productivity and economic growth, says Ng. — CHAN BOON KAI/The Star

DOSM also recorded a 0.9% increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) of fruits and nuts this April, compared with last April.

In the same period, DOSM found the CPI for vegetables spiked 3.2%, with different types of onions and red spinach recording the highest increase.

Experts agree that there is a strong correlation between the high cost of living and the low number of Malaysians eating healthily enough.

Universiti Malaya Department of Social and Preventive Medicine senior lecturer Dr Ng Ai Kah says the correlation between financial constraints and unhealthy eating habits is a well-documented phenomenon.

“Limited financial resources can indeed prevent individuals and families from purchasing and consuming healthier foods such as fruits and vegetables.

“Besides, other food options, which are often high in sugar and fat, are usually cheap, delicious, and provide satiety,” Ng says.

There could be other reasons contributing to the low number of Malaysians with a healthy diet, she adds, including lack of time for meal preparation, especially for working mothers, and limited access to fresh produce in certain areas.

The Federation of Malaysian Consumers’ Associations (Fomca) vice-president and legal adviser Datuk Indrani Thuraisingham agrees that affordability and practicality are the two main factors behind an unhealthy diet.

“I think these two go hand in hand. Practicality, in terms of where is the nearest place, the most convenient [to get groceries],” Indrani says.

It may not seem like an unhealthy diet is the most pressing health issue in the country, but Ng says if this persists, it could result in a sicker population at large which will subsequently lead to lower productivity and inhibited economic growth.

“Poor dietary habits contribute to the prevalence of obesity and chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and certain cancers.

“As the health of the population declines, so does productivity, as individuals experience more sick days and reduced efficiency at work, ultimately hindering economic growth,” she says.

At the same time, more financial resources will be needed to support a healthcare system burdened by a sick population, she adds.

Farmers should be incentivised to plant more fruits and vegetables, rather than focusing most of the country’s arable land on commodities, says Indrani. — Agencies

Cutting back

Low-income families in Malaysia of course are at most risk.

In a United Nations-backed study released in early May, shortly before the NHMS results were released, it was revealed that many B40 families are forced to cut back on food spending due to rising prices in the post-pandemic era, with some children eating fewer than three meals a day.

As of October 2023, about 81% of heads of households said their current household income is not sufficient to cover their family’s daily needs, a jump from 70% in a similar survey from pandemic-era 2020.

“Households have resorted to various coping mechanisms in response to the escalating cost of living, although some of these strategies, such as reducing food intake, have adverse effects on nutritional outcomes,” read the study from the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) titled “Living on the Edge: Longi-tudinal Study on the Impact of Cost of Living Post-Pandemic Among Low-Income Households”.

The study, which looked at 755 households whose median incomes are near RM3,000 a month, is a follow-up from Unicef’s earlier studies in 2020 and 2021 which tracked the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and its lockdowns on low-income families.

It found that 62% of heads of households cited high prices of raw ingredients as their main challenge in preparing a nutritious meal.

About 32% of them also said they reduced their food consumption as part of their strategy to mitigate the rising cost of living.

“Dietary habits have undergone notable changes, characterised by increased consumption of eggs, rice and instant noodles.

“However, the consumption of unhealthy food options has increased, with 46% reporting eating more instant noodles compared with 40% during the pandemic,” the study read.

One of their interviewees, who wished to be known as Ms M, a 35-year-old kuih seller who is a widow with a small child with disability, said looking at the price of rice now makes her “want to cry”.

Another interviewee, 25-year-old Ms S who is a retail worker, said she used to be able to buy a lot with RM50.

“Now RM50 is only enough for two, three items, like rice and cooking oil.”

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Better incentives

While there are various things that individuals can do to improve their diet, the government can also help to lower prices for fresh produce and encourage people to eat healthier.

It can start with something as simple as providing cash vouchers to low-income families that are only valid to purchase fresh produce, Indrani moots.

A regular habit of eating fresh produce can also be inculcated in Malaysians from a young age by expanding school meal plans like the Supplementary Food Programme to include fruits and vegetables, she suggests.

As a vocal proponent of more urban and community gardens, Indrani says Putrajaya should reduce the red tape for people who want to apply to use idle land for gardening.

At the same time, the government should look into rebalancing how the country’s fertile lands are used for agriculture at large and implement policies to incentivise farmers to use more fertile land for agrofood industries, rather than focus on commodities.

It was previously reported that only 16.26% of arable land in Peninsular Malaysia was used for agrofood planting. In comparison, the remaining 83.74% was used for commodities like oil palm and cocoa in 2021.

In the 12th Malaysia Plan Mid-Term Review, the government said the amount of land used for agrofood is estimated to go up by just 1.2% between 2021 and 2025.

“Most farmers tend to go for more commodity-based products because they can get higher incomes, but then what happens to our food security?

“Padi farmers are getting price subsidies [on their raw costs] but what about fruits and vegetables?

“Why can’t we give such farmers the subsidies and see that they will grow more fruits and vegetables because right now they don’t see it as something that is a good income for them,” Indrani says.