Food Insecurity: Impact of Social Determinants on Health - Paper Example

Introduction

Hartline-Grafton and Dean (2017) acknowledge that there is an increasing awareness and acknowledgment in the health care community that health consequences and disparities more frequently than not are influenced by social determinants of health than by medical care. Social determinants of health include physical, economic, social or other factors of where individuals learn, live, work, and play to shape their health (Nettle Joly, Broadbent, Smith, Tittle, &Bateson, 2019). Food insecurity and poverty are social determinants of health and are connected with some of the nation's most severe and costly health challenges.

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For those struggling with food insecurity, poverty, or a mixture of these factors, maintaining good health, controlling an existing chronic disease, consuming a nutritious diet can be problematic to them. Schwartz, Scholtens Lalanne, Weenen, and Nicklaus (2011) point that nutrition is essential in maintaining good health. Nutrition is the amount and quality of food, which the body receives. The body digests the food to access the molecules that body needs: vitamins, proteins, fats, minerals, and carbohydrates (Alamgir, Sami, and Salahuddin, 2018; Mulrooney, &Bell, 2016). Nutrition refers to the total sum of all processes engaged in how organisms access nutrients, metabolize them and utilize them to support life cycles. (Alamgir, Sami, and Salahuddin, 2018). If the body lacks all these elements, then the body will fail to work accordingly.

Food insecurity

According to Shawn (2007), the 1996 world Food security at a person house, national, zonal and worldwide levels are attained when all individual, at all times, have both economic and physical access to safe, sufficient, and nutritious food to achieve their dietary needs and food preferences for a vibrant and healthy life. Nations U (1974) reported that the definition of food security further widened the 1974 World Food Summit's primary initial focus on the constancy and quantity of food supplies. It encompasses secured access to food for all individuals, particularly the most susceptible, and integrates nutritional balance and food safety. Further, it also showed concern regarding food composition, choice, quality, and care associated features of good nutrition.

Food is essential for the health of the population and economically. Shepherd (2001) suggests that food consumption serves a vital role in the health a well—being of the population. Annually, about 38 million individuals die worldwide from Non-communicable diseases (NCDs). A considerable percentage of these premature deaths happen in low- and middle-income countries. The leading cause of NCDs globally is unhealthy eating. Unhealthy eating is responsible for 241.4 million disability-adjusted life years lost and 11.3 million deaths in developing countries (Hoffmann, Moser, and Saak, 2019). Further, a growing number of developing countries are encountering a double burden of malnutrition. These countries demonstrate the persistence of under nutrition, particularly among children, along with a rapid upsurge in numbers of either obese or overweight.

Worldwide, food is uncertain. Yau, Adams, and White (2018) and Purdam, Garratt, and Esmail (2016) point out that, for instance, in the U.K., the frequency of adult food insecurity is approximated to be 8-10. This is apparent that the Millenium Development Goals' goal of minimizing the ratio of individuals who suffer from hunger by half will not be realized. Moreover, the majority of individuals from such backgrounds are affected by mineral and vitamin deficiencies. World Health Organization asserts that one out of three encounters unhealthy eating (Kahl et al., 2016).

Food Safety

Food security is more than just supplying matching needs. Food security also concerns matters of food safety. Food safety matters have existed for an extended period, as millions of individuals across the universe suffer from foodborne illness annually (Elmadbouly, 2018). Due to the limited knowledge of food safety measures, contaminated foods primarily escalate foodborne diseases. Foodborne illness has critical economic consequences on society through indirect costs such and direct healthcare costs. According to Thaivalappil, Young, Paco, Jeyapalan, and Papadopoulos (2020), for instance, in the United Kingdom, the annual fee linked to foodborne disease is approximated to be $2.5billion As critical factors in food services, food handlers must serve a key role in giving safe food for the purchasers. Thus, presently, they must partake in food training courses to gain personal hygiene and nutrition knowledge. In addition to training, sociodemographic features and work experience can influence their level of expertise.

Eating Patterns

Price et al. (2020) suggest that it is unluckily; today’s world has changed to a system of food consumption that has severe effects on human health. Lifestyle change has obliged human beings so much that one has no significant time to think if what they are taking is healthy or not. According to Shridhar et al. (2015), globalization has hugely affected human eating habits and motivated many individuals to be consuming junk and high calories fast foods (Scott et al, 2020 & Snuggs, Houston-Price & Harvey, 2019). There is a severe health hazard linked to the consumption of such high calories foods. Some of the diseases related to poor eating patterns and habits are food poisoning, dehydration, and cardiac problems such as arthritis, Anexoria Nervosa, and diabetes mellitus (Stead, McDermott, MacKintosh, & Adamson, 2011; Hernandez, and Murillo ,2017; Fielding-Singh, 2019;). The developing countries, there is a remarkable upsurge in the consumption of unhealthy foods due to several social-economic aspects.

Underlying Factors

Loopstra (2018) asserts that a significant amount of research shows that individuals living in poverty have excessively worse health outcomes and less access to health care than those from prominent families. Similarly, Bocquieret al. (2015) and Jarosz (2017) claim that regions with many low-income households frequently have low access to resources, supporting their health, such as full-service grocery providing nutritious foods, recreational centers that promote physical activities, parks among others. Besides, they have more environmental risks that damage their health, such as low water and air quality and poor housing conditions.

For instance, in the U.K., Puddephatt, Keenan, Fielden, Reaves, Halford, and Hardman (2020) claims that several aspects are likely to lead to the issue of food insecurity. The authors suggest that the leading factor change in political climate within the social welfare system, particularly the institution of Universal Credit. Universal Credit is a social security payment offered to those with low income. This system is a substitute for individual means-tested benefits. Universal Credit is an excellent system with a wide range of services; however, due to matters concerning changing from old to a new system, many low-income households have been forced to sleep hunger for about five weeks due to system delays (Smith, Thompson, Harland, Parker, and Shelton, 2018). Besides Universal Credit, another aspect that causes food insecurity in the U.K. is the high cost of food (Power, Uphoff, Stewart-Knox, Small, Doherty, &Pickett, 2018). Mello et al. (2010) claim that researchers have discovered that food insecurity is more likely to happen in low-income households and racial and ethnic minorities. 38% of poverty-level income families were food insecure in 2015 (Burns, Cook, &Mavoa, 2013). Food insecurity is also associated with the prevalence of overweight, certainly amongst women. A likely explanation for this relationship is that foods rich in calories and fat are cheap than vegetables, fruits, food rich in fibre, and lean meats (Biermann and Rau, 2020). Persons from low-income families have demonstrated to have a lower nutrition intake, vegetable, and fruit intake (Evans at el, 2015). Hence, the nutritional values of the diet of food ensure families may be less than a standard level that may elevate their chronic disease risk.

A huge contributing factor to air and water pollution is human activities such as food production and consumption. Production and consumption of food are accountable for about 30% of the total European greenhouse gas emission (Osman & Thornton, 2019; Van de Brug, Luijckx, Cnossen, & Houben, 2014). One approach to considerably reduce carbon emissions that lead to the greenhouse effect is by changing individual food intake patterns away from resource-demanding foods such as dairy and meat.(Cooke & Papadaki, 2014; ) Motivating environmentally alert food intake at the consumer level has been a substantial target for behavioural change (Osman &Thornton, 2019). The theory of Planned Behavior has seconded this. The theory argues that elements such as apparent behavioural control, attitudes, and subjective norms directly influence intentions, which determine the course of action.

Further, the development of food and agricultural resources needs to consider the continuous exhaustion of fossil energy, the safety of water catchment areas and soil, the protection of biodiversity, and issues about climate change (Jagadeesan, 2019). If farmers have to meet the world's adequate food supply, they need to produce crops that consider environmental pollution. This implies that farmers will have provided industrial and energy commodities in place of petrochemical products and provide rural and environmental services such as management, open landscapes, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity protection (Barlow, Loopstra, Tarasuk,& Reeves, 2020). On top of that, food consumption measures will be required to be adapted.

Bibliography

Alamgir, K., Sami, U.K. and Salahuddin, K., 2018. Nutritional complications and their effects on human health. J Food Sci Nutr. 2018; 1 (1): 17-20. J Food Sci Nutr 2018 Volume 1 Issue, 1.

Barlow, P., Loopstra, R., Tarasuk, V. and Reeves, A., 2020. Liberal trade policy and food insecurity across the income distribution: an observational analysis in 132 countries, 2014–17. The Lancet Global Health, 8(8), pp.e1090-e1097.

Biermann, G. and Rau, H., 2020. The meaning of meat :( Un) sustainable eating practices at home and out of the house. Appetite, p.104730.

Bocquier, A., Vieux, F., Lioret, S., Dubuisson, C., Caillavet, F. and Darmon, N., 2015. Socio-economic characteristics, living conditions and diet quality are associated with food insecurity in France. Public health nutrition, 18(16), pp.2952-2961.

Burns, C., Cook, K. and Mavoa, H., 2013. Role of expendable income and price in food choice by low income families. Appetite, 71, pp.209-217.

Cooke, R. and Papadaki, A., 2014. Nutrition label use mediates the positive relationship between nutrition knowledge and attitudes towards healthy eating with dietary quality among university students in the U.K. Appetite, 83, pp.297-303.

Elmadbouly, M.A.E., 2018. Association between sociodemographic factors and knowledge level of food safety and hygiene among hospital food services staff. RESEARCH JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL SCIENCES, 9(2), pp.571-578.

Hartline-Grafton, H. and Dean, O., 2017. The impact of poverty, food insecurity, and poor nutrition on health and well-being. Washington, DC: Food Research & Action Center