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Foods high in sugar, salt and saturated fat make up 40% of the diets of adults in South Africa with low income. These foods are widely available in low-income areas and are cheaper than healthier, whole-food alternatives.
According to a recent study led by Dr Tamryn Frank, an obesity prevention researcher at the University of the Western Cape, ultra-processed foods are easy to prepare, tasty, affordable and have a long shelf life.
But the cost of convenience is high. It’s estimated that being overweight or obese will cost the country R33.194 million, or 15.38% of the country’s health budget, in 2020.
“These products can lead to severe problems such as obesity, overweight, cancer and heart diseases,” Frank said during a webinar hosted by the advocacy organisation Heala last week.
Frank says the impact of highly processed foods is more severe on children. Parents should pay attention to what they give their children, despite the challenges they may face.
She warns:
South Africa has seen a drastic increase in non-communicable diseases over the past 20 years, with cases rising from 103 428 in 1997 to 164 205 in 2018.
READ: Diabetes, heart disease, cancers on the rise, as South Africans are urged to prioritise health
This increase is driven by the high number of people who are overweight and obese. In South Africa, 31% of men and 68% of women are obese, while 13% of children are obese or overweight.
Malnutrition and hunger
At the same time, 8 million of the 21 million children in the country go hungry every day, according to a 2023 report by the Children’s Institute at the University of Cape Town. The report found that the child support grant, which at the time was R500, wasn’t enough to protect poor children from hunger and the effects of malnutrition, such as stunting, which leaves children too short for their age.
“The increase of R20 or R50 in child support grants is an insult to South Africans,” says Petronell Kruger, Heala’s programmes manager.
Kruger says government should increase the child support grant so that people can afford nutritious food. Additionally, government should subsidise all healthy food and support locally produced healthy food products.
She explained:
Lasting impact of malnutrition
According to Dr Edzani Mphaphuli, a public health specialist and head of the Grow Great campaign to end stunting in children, over 1.5 million children are stunted because they are not getting enough nutritious food.
READ: 'You can't be fat and pregnant', doctor warns on World Obesity Day
“Stunted children are likely to struggle to learn in school. These children fail to reach their physical and cognitive potential,” she says.
Stunting is a serious problem not only for children, guardians and households, but also for society as a whole and it should be taken seriously, she adds.
– This article was originally published in Health-e News. You can read the original article here.
