VERSION B: Healthier diets within reach, but many still struggle

 

PETALING JAYA: The number of Malaysians who cannot afford a healthy diet is falling but many are still struggling to cope as food prices continue to go up.

According to the World Bank’s data, the percentage of the country’s population who cannot afford to eat healthy fell from 4% in 2017 to 1.8% in 2022.

Commenting on the trend, Khazanah Research Institute’s research associate Dr Teoh Ai Ni, the reduction is mainly due to numerous government policies.

They include food subsidies, cash transfer for the poor, food assistance and food banks.

The government has introduced several measures over the past few years to help lower-income earners.

They include electricity rebate, Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah and Sumbangan Asas Rahmah.

Despite the drop, Teoh said the current situation cannot be taken lightly, as there was still 1.8% of the population, which is about 600,000, who could not afford to eat healthy.

“We cannot underestimate the numbers because 600,000 is still a lot of people for Malaysia, an upper-middle-income country,” said Teoh in an interview with The Star in conjunction with World Food Day tomorrow (Oct 16).

World Food Day is an international day celebrated every year worldwide to commemorate the date of the founding of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in 1945.

The theme of this year's World Food Day is, “Right to foods for a better life and a better future.”

Teoh said that the cost of a healthy diet would continue to rise in the future and that

without a commensurate increase in income and wages, more people would not be able to afford a healthy diet. 

“That means this problem will persist or might even turn into a bigger issue, especially when our country is also facing an issue of wage stagnation,” she said.

Teoh said that when prices of certain foods go up, many people in the lower income groups cope by adjusting their spending.

“In many cases, they opt to spend on food that is higher in starch such as like rice, bread, grains.

“These foods will give more carbohydrates and more energy versus a diet with more fruits and vegetables that are full of nutrients but lower in energy,” she said.

Teoh said the cost of a healthy diet would likely continue to rise due to inflation.

Without a commensurate increase in income and wages, more people would not be able to afford a healthy diet. 

“That means this problem will persist or might even turn into a bigger issue, especially when our country is also facing an issue of wage stagnation,” she said.

Teoh said bigger households are spending increasingly more money eating out due to time costs.

This, she said, exposes them to more unhealthy food options, compared with eating at home.

“When you are cooking at home, you are more in control. When we eat out, we have more unhealthy options.”

The cost of a healthy diet can also be affected by locality and cultural or ethnic influences, said Teoh.

To support a healthier diet in Malaysia, she said it is crucial to invest in research and infrastructure for increasing fruit and vegetable production and to reduce food wastage, lower transportation costs, and stabilise food prices.

She said improving wages and addressing broader issues like urban planning and labour policies are essential to ensure that people can afford and have access to nutritious food.

Read this story at TheStar.com.my to find out how much it costs to eat healthy in the Klang Valley.