Healthy food must be affordable too – Barbados Today
As a society, we have now reached a space where our physical health is demanding healthy food be more accessible and definitely more affordable in cost to change the trajectory of our people’s health.
Barbadians are generally aware of the staggering statistics that 80 per cent of our deaths are attributed to non-communicable diseases (NCDs). What is also known, as an unhealthy diet often contributes significantly to the early onset of NCDs while diets rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, and healthy fats have been found to reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease among others.
A known fact is not always an achievable reality and the most common lament to healthy eating is the belief that healthy foods cost more than highly processed foods that are typically less nutritious. Healthy foods are often seen in the context of food for the rich and out of reach of the economically less fortunate.
So, the question is, does healthy eating actually cost more? And the answer to that question is complicated.
In a recent attempt, at a business place I am associated with, offering some treats to our team, we chose the healthier option of fruits. It is worth noting that to our surprise a small bag of basic fruits for each staff member was 100 per cent more costly than industrially produced muffins, which we did the previous month. If at that micro level, the cost difference between healthy and non-healthy is that significant, imagine the challenges at the macro level.
Professor Winston Moore, deputy principal of the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, was recently quoted in the press acknowledging that the cost of healthier options was deterring people from buying nutritious food. A 2022/2023 study, Mapping Taxes on Healthy Foods, he conducted in collaboration with Dr Antonio Alleyne, found that food imports high in sugar, sodium and fats were taxed at 35 per cent but healthier foods were taxed at 10 per cent higher.
Decisions regarding food choices are based on a variety of factors including cost, taste, convenience, and availability. Many people feel that nutritious foods cost more than foods high in calories and low in important nutrients. In an effort to save money, people most likely will select less nutritious foods when shopping resulting in less healthy meals and snacks. And that certainly has been the response of many people who we speak with about eating healthier.
Government policy coupled with awareness and behavioural change are the calls that emanate from groups working in the space to combat this existential threat of NCD-related illness and death. Making healthy foods more affordable and easily accessible must be placed up front and centre on the government’s agenda. To continue to kick the can down the road on making healthy foods affordable when evidence abounds on the price differences between healthy and unhealthy foods is to condemn our generation and future generations to NCD-related illnesses and deaths.
Making healthier foods more affordable and easily accessible helps in creating the environment and culture for behavioural change. If the pocket of average-income householders factors significantly in eating choices, then removing that hindrance places healthier options higher on the selection decision-making process.
A walk through our well-known Cheapside Market on a Saturday morning is refreshing to see Barbadians buying produce, fruits, and vegetables. The accessibility, freshness, and bargains there are perhaps better than in other places. But healthier food options cannot only be in our markets, they must be widespread across the length and breadth of Barbados and Barbadians should appreciate affordable, locally home-grown foods over a less healthy, less nutritious, cheap food import.
When discussing the cost of healthy eating, it is important to consider the cost of not incorporating nutritious foods into meals on a regular basis. Unhealthy dietary patterns that consist of high amounts of sugar, saturated fat, sodium, and calories, are linked to higher rates of chronic diseases such as overweight and obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes, among many others. Not only is the risk of chronic disease greater, but the financial costs of treating the diseases listed are expensive. The majority of Barbados’ health care budget is spent on persons presenting themselves to the QEH or polyclinics with an NCD or NCDs. Consider the millions that can be saved by reducing the incidences of NCD-related illnesses.
Suleiman Bulbulia chairs the National NCD Commission
