Impact of food consumption

Impact of food consumption

1. Inadequate

   • Health
     • Malnutrition
       • Examples
         • 5 million child deaths under age 5 in LDCs
           • 52.5% caused by malnutrition
         • 148 million under weight children worldwide
           • 78 million children (South Asia LDCs)
           • 36 million children (Sub-Saharan Africa)
         • LDCs>DCs
           • 16% of people in LDCs suffer malnutrition
           • 75% of Democratic Republic of Congo suffer malnutrition
       • Impact
         • Infacy
           • Malnourished infants
         • Childhood
           • Impaired development
             • Fall more sick more often
         • Adolescence
           • Impair development
             • Loss of school days & educational opportunities
         • Adulthood
           • Less productive at work
             • Low weight gain and reduced capacity to care for children
     • Ill-Health
       • Vitamin A
         • Includes eggs,cheese & milk
         • Uses
           • Maintain good eyesight
           • Keeps skin,tissues,bones and immune system healthy
         • Defficiency
           • Visual impairment & blindness
             • 250,000 - 500,000 children become blind annually
           • Diarrheal diseases & measles
             • 44.8% of children deaths caused by measles in 2009
             • 60.7% die from diarrhea
             • Children have lower educational opportunities
               • Lower earning power
       • Vitamin D & Calcium
         • Uses
           • Make strong and healthy bones
           • Vitamin D: Helps fight body from infection, enables vital organs to work well
         • Defficiency
           • Osteoporosis
             • More fragile bones which lead to fractures or breaking
               • Less work days & productivities
               • US$3.7 billion spent on patients with hip fractures in 2006
     • Starvation
       • Extreme malnutrition
         • Body becomes skeletally thin
           • Permanent damage to organs
             • Person will die if untreated
       • More common in LDCs
         • 98% of people facing starvation live in LDCs
           • 60% of them live in Asia
   • Economic
     • Lower Productivity
       • Workers fall sick more often
         • Lowers productivity, refers to output of goods per unit of labor
           • Leads to lower income
       • Children fall sick more often
         • Loss of school days
           • Loss of educational opportunities
             • 7,300 8-year olds--> Permanent brain damage
     • Higher Public Health Expenditure
       • Increase in demand of health services
         • Public expenditure & overall cost of healthcare increases
           • Limited resources stretched and cannot focus much on transport,housing,agriculture and education
             • Slows down country's economic growth
     • Long-Term Debt
       • Food and financial aid given by DCs to help LDCs cope with lack of food
         • May lead to long-term debt problems for receiving countries
         • Human Development Report in 2005,2006,2007 shows food supply 34% more expensive than purchased locally
           • LDCs incurred losses between US$5-US$7 billion
   • Political
     • Instability
       • Wars & Social unrest
         • Drought in Russia decreased wheat production
           • 30% increase in food prices in 2010
             • Protests in Mozambique began
   • Social
     • Scavenging
       • Heath risks
         • Disposed food contain high levels of bacteria or chemicals
       • Dangerous or illegal situations
         • Scavengers trespass over private property
         • Abused and harassed
     • Many people reside near 'Smokey Mountain' in Manila,Phillipines
       • Massive amounts of rubbish and waste

2. Excessive

   • Health
     • Obesity occurs
       • Leads to health problems such as high blood pressure,coronary heart diseases,diabetes and cancer
         • More common in DCs due to higher disposable income --> Stronger purchasing power
       • 1971-2000: Obesity in USA increased from 14.5% to 30.9%
     • Excessive consumption of salt,sugar,alcohol,processed food and red meat
       • Kidney failure,liver diseases and hypertension
   • Economic
     • More workers absent from work
       • Lower productivity leads to lower incomes
         • Unable to work productively or study productively
         • Costs millions in productivity and insurance costs
       • Poor health hinders progress
     • Duke University with BMI
       • 40 twice as likely to fall ill or be injured
   • Social
     • Food Wastage
       • DCs waste 230 million tones annually, estimated by FAO
         • DCs: 95-115 kg per capita
         • LDCs: 6-11kg per capita
       • Further strain on landfills
         • Resources used to produce food wasted
     • Dieting
       • USA's weight loss industry valued US$20 billion, in 2012
         • Inappropriate dieting leads to depression
         • Physical illnesses
           • Iron-deficiency anaemia