Food price hike affecting people’s nutrition intake

Alaul Alam :

Food price inflation is endangering food security around the globe.

The poor and developing countries are bearing the brunt of food insecurity amid the world’s wars and conflicts.

In Bangladesh the price of the essential commodities has increased sharply over the last some years.

It continues to distress the low- and middle-income commoners.

This time the rising trend of price hike of the essentials is no more considered abnormal, rather it has been a new normal as the consumers are found to cope up with the situation seeing no hope to get rid of the pains of it.

The regular price hike of the daily necessities is taking a huge toll of the low- and fixed-income people. They see no alternative but cut their protein intake from their plate.

It is no denial that the global economy continues to fight inflation and the commoners across the world are bearing the most brunt of the rising food price.

The situation may get more frustrating for a country when its consumers are trapped by the dishonest syndicates who control the price of the essentials in the wholesale and retail market.

Consequently, common people fall victims to food insecurity despite the availability of foods in the market.

In fact, food insecurity does not merely correspond to the shortage of production of foods in a country, rather it may be more acute due to the lack of purchasing ability of people.

As their income does not allow them to purchase nutritious foods such as fish, meat, milk, eggs, they have no scope left to satisfy their hunger with poor intake.

Studies show that due to the rising price of the daily commodities people usually prioritize foods which are higher in calories but lower in nutritional value.

It is found that poor and middle-income people despite spending much of their earnings in purchasing food they have no alternative left but to reduce the daily intake.

People suffer from malnutrition due to taking low dietary foods on regular basis to keep body and soul together.

Children, pregnant women and old people are the unfortunate victims of the cruel price hike of the daily commodities.

A recent study conducted by the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) has revealed that food price hike decreases the consumption of rice slightly but the consumption of fish, meat, fruit and other nutritious foods is reduced sharply.

Experts warn that the decreasing trend of food consumption of the commoners leads to the deterioration of the nutrition status of the country.

However, it is obvious that in the last five decades the health sector of the country has improved significantly and thus people enjoy better healthcare these days but in achieving the optimal nutrition status the country is still struggling.

A large section of children, women and the elderly in the country are still suffering from malnutrition.

A report published by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) reveals that in Bangladesh 50% of pregnant women and 40% non-pregnant women suffer from anemia while 57% of non-pregnant women have zinc deficiency.

Poor dietary or starvation may push them into more health complexities.

Health experts opine that due to not taking nutrition intake people suffer from malnutrition which leads to the increase of various diseases.

The people who are greatly affected with the price hike of the essentials do not manage the required protein, vitamins and nutrition resulting in the deterioration of their health.

Evidently, nutritious foods are essential for maintaining good health.

Nutritious foods help children grow up and develop properly with lower risk of chronic diseases.

People who eat healthy diet may have much longevity with a lower risk of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancers.

Nutrition intake helps people naturally boost up against many complexities inside their bodies.

A recent study has found that children suffer the most from malnutrition in Bangladesh.

The study has also revealed that food price hike of the essentials has forced many to readjust food intake which may result in deterioration of the nutritional status in the country.

Being severely affected, the poor households have started to take low nutritional diets contributing to further malnutrition phenomena in the country.

The significant increase of the per capita income of the country in many cases cannot guarantee the overall upper status of the people.

Economists claim that the increase of the per capita income of people cannot always bring inclusive development of a country.

Thus, the increase of per capita income does not confirm the purchasing ability of people amid the skyrocketing food price of the essentials.

However, food price hike hardly affects the people who have been able to enhance their income ability proportionately to meet their expenses.

It is frustrating to notice that disproportionate per capita income plunges poor and fixed-income people into high disparity and may deepen their social exclusion.

But it cannot be denied that income of the people in general has increased to an extent although it is not worthy of mention when compared with the rising trend of the price of the essentials.

However, the government drives open market sales of some essentials to save the low-income people from the shock of price hike.

But to ease the consumers from the shock of price hike it is very urgent to keep the price of the daily necessities under control.

There is no alternative to monitoring wholesale and retail markets strictly on regular basis and giving exemplary punishment to the perpetrators involved in price hike syndicates disregarding their social and political identity.

Finally, for the sustainable development it is a must to enhance the nutrition status of the country and for this the priority should be to ensure nutritional foods for all.

(The writer teaches at Prime University. He is also research scholar at the IBS.)