Understanding drivers of food choice in low and middle-income countries

Food security has a far broader definition than just having two square meals a day. It refers to the accessibility, availability, and affordability of food for all people at all times. When food or crops are few, the poor family is the most exposed to food insecurity since it is reliant on the public distribution system. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), food security occurs when all people have continuous physical and economic access to enough, safe, and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.

Food choice looks into how people choose what they eat. Food choice is far more involved than simply selecting a favorite dish. It includes psychological and sociological aspects (including food politics and phenomena such as vegetarianism or religious dietary laws), economic issues (for example, how food prices or marketing campaigns influence choice), and sensory aspects (such as the study of the organoleptic qualities of food). Globalization, economic development, technological advancement and shifts in agricultural systems have been rapidly transforming diets across the world in recent times. Collectively, these factors have led to a transition away from the reliance on staple grains, legumes, vegetables and fruits to dietary patterns that include more processed foods, away-from-home foods, animal source foods, refined carbohydrates, edible oils and sugared or sweetened beverages.

According to the World Bank, low-income economies are defined as those with a GNI per capita, of $1045 or less in 2014; middle-income economies are those with a GNI per capita of more than $1045 but less than $12,736. When it comes to food choice in low and middle income countries, lacking access to healthy food, whether it is due to a lack of funds or a lack of a convenient location to purchase food, is an ever-present issue, and it has an immediate and long-term impact on people's health and socioeconomic status. Many low and middle-income countries (LMICs) are in the process of a nutrition transition and are experiencing shifts in their food systems because of demographic change, rapid urbanization, supermarket expansion and globalization of agricultural markets and trade. This transition is also associated with malnutrition in all its forms (undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, overweight and obesity) and diet-related non-communicable diseases that remain a major impediment to achieving global food security and sustainable development.

It is no big deal to understand as to why poor people in low income countries suffer from high rates of illness particularly infectious diseases and malnutrition. What affects health in case of the poor in these countries is poor availability of food, unclean water, low level of sanitation and shelter, failure to deal with the environments that lead to high exposure to infectious agents and lack of appropriate medical care. In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), populations are increasingly facing a double burden of malnutrition that includes undernutrition, as well as increasing overweight, obesity and diet-related NCDs, or non-communicable diseases (World Health Organisation, 2017). Growing food insecurity in low-income nations such as Sub-Saharan Africa is a result of low agricultural production and a failure to adapt to climate change, which leads to increased reliance on food aid from wealthier countries. Furthermore, producers and consumers face issues as a result of inadequate post-harvest management that occurs throughout the chain. As a result, addressing the problem of post-harvest loss (PHL) is one strategy to increase food security and efficient use of limited agricultural resources.

 

Food-borne disease (FBD) is an important issue. The full health effects, as well as the full economic costs, of unsafe food are not known, but the global impact on health, trade, and development is considered enormous. Worldwide consumers in developing country are concerned about (foodborne disease) FBD; that most of the known burden of disease comes from biological hazards; and, that most FBD is the result of consumption of fresh, perishable foods sold in informal markets. FBD is likely to increase in LMICs (low and middle income countries) as the result of massive increases in the consumption of risky foods (livestock and fish products and produce) and lengthening and broadening value chains. Capacity-building, cooperation, and contribution may promote global health research, and practise if they are built on the foundations of health justice, global governance, sustainable global health education, mutual respect, and equitable policies and programmes.