Headey, Derek, and Marie Ruel. “Food Inflation and Child Undernutrition in Low and Middle Income Countries.” Nature Communications, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 16 Sept. 2023, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10505228/#:~:text=On%20average%2C%20a%205%20percent,the%20wake%20of%20food%20inflation.Accessed 31 Oct. 2023.
Summary:
Global food prices have even extremely volatile in the 21st century, resulting crisis in 2007-2008, 2010-2011, and 2021-2022. This study, which focuses on 1.27 million preschool children, examines the effects of rising food prices of malnutrition in children in 44 developing nations. According to the research “More related to the present study is an analysis of the 2008-09 food price crisis using a propitiously timed household survey in Mozambique that covered both low and high food inflation periods. Controlling for confounding factors, the study found that children exposed to high inflation were significantly more likely to be wasted and underweight.” This implies a link between food inflation exposure and later child under nutrition. Furthermore, the likelihood of wasting increases by 9% and the likelihood of severe wasting by 14% with every 5% increase in the real price of food. This study also examines the impact of food inflation on child malnutrition in low and middle class countries. The short-term effects of rising food prices on household income vary depending on whether the home is a net food consumer or producer. Most impoverished households are net food consumers, and as food costs rise, they often face income losses. Additionally, the study looks at food inflation in the first year following delivery and during pregnancy and how these young children are prone to being malnourished. As there are many reasons for food inflation one thing we do see that is a factor is unemployment. These children’s family lose their jobs and now they are wondering how they are able to provide yet food of any kind is overpriced. This leads to many health factors aside from malnutrition, developmentally their growth is stunted, keeping them from being as tall, strong, and mentally on the same rates as compared to others who do not experience malnutrition.
Reflection:
There are several ways inflation can impact hunger and malnutrition for example, reduced purchasing power. When inflation occurs, the prices of basic goods and food items tend to rise. This means that people with fixed or limited incomes find it more difficult to afford nutritious food, leading to decreased food security and potentially malnutrition. In this study they tested different groups in different countries inflation in food and the relationship of malnutrition on younger kids. One question I had is why are the prices increasing drastically? I came to conclusion that there’s no one specific reason to why prices have increased drastically, there are so many factors that play into it. Starting with supply and demand, prices typically increase when there is a surplus of food available but a greater demand. Demand may rise due to things like population growth etc. or even global market factors. International commodity markets, which set pricing for important agricultural products including wheat, rice, and soybeans, can have an impact on food prices. Food costs may fluctuate on a worldwide scale as a result of changes in these markets. Another question I have is what are the consequences of food price inflation on malnutrition? Malnutrition can be made worse by food price inflation in a number of ways. It might lead to a rise in the number of people experiencing food insecurity and difficulty affording nutritious, well-balanced meals. Over time, this may lead to malnutrition and deficiencies in certain micronutrients, particularly in vulnerable populations like children and expecting mothers. The studies’ ease of comprehension was made possible by the writers’ language construction. Food inflation during pregnancy and the first year after delivery raises the risk of stunting in children between the ages of two and five, according to study figures. The research presented here offers a compelling case for actions aimed at preventing food inflation and lessening its effects on mothers and vulnerable children.
The authors were very specific with the study they were trying to portray, reading the study helped me better understand the statistics and graphs. Their choice of writing was quite advanced in my opinion, but overall easy to figure out the key points.
Quote:
“One study used long-term but high-frequency nutrition surveillance data from Bangladesh to descriptively show that when rice prices increase, households spend less on non-staple foods and child underweight (low weight-for-age) prevalence increases.”
Summary:
Global food prices have even extremely volatile in the 21st century, resulting crisis in 2007-2008, 2010-2011, and 2021-2022. This study, which focuses on 1.27 million preschool children, examines the effects of rising food prices of malnutrition in children in 44 developing nations. According to the research “More related to the present study is an analysis of the 2008-09 food price crisis using a propitiously timed household survey in Mozambique that covered both low and high food inflation periods. Controlling for confounding factors, the study found that children exposed to high inflation were significantly more likely to be wasted and underweight.” This implies a link between food inflation exposure and later child under nutrition. Furthermore, the likelihood of wasting increases by 9% and the likelihood of severe wasting by 14% with every 5% increase in the real price of food. This study also examines the impact of food inflation on child malnutrition in low and middle class countries. The short-term effects of rising food prices on household income vary depending on whether the home is a net food consumer or producer. Most impoverished households are net food consumers, and as food costs rise, they often face income losses. According to medium-term evaluations that take into consideration adaptive coping mechanisms and economy-wide adaptations, increased food costs tend to lessen poverty, particularly in rural areas. As there are many reasons for food inflation one thing we do see that is a factor is unemployment. These children’s family lose their jobs and now they are wondering how they are able to provide yet food of any kind is overpriced. This leads to many health factors aside from malnutrition, developmentally their growth is stunted, keeping them from being as tall, strong, and mentally on the same rates as compared to others who do not experience malnutrition.
Reflection:
There are several ways inflation can impact hunger and malnutrition for example, reduced purchasing power. When inflation occurs, the prices of basic goods and food items tend to rise. This means that people with fixed or limited incomes find it more difficult to afford nutritious food, leading to decreased food security and potentially malnutrition. In this study they tested different groups in different countries inflation in food and the relationship of malnutrition on younger kids. One question I had is why are the prices increasing drastically? I came to conclusion that there’s no one specific reason to why prices have increased drastically, there are so many factors that play into it. Starting with supply and demand, prices typically increase when there is a surplus of food available but a greater demand. Demand may rise due to things like population growth etc. or even global market factors. International commodity markets, which set pricing for important agricultural products including wheat, rice, and soybeans, can have an impact on food prices. Food costs may fluctuate on a worldwide scale as a result of changes in these markets. Speaking from personal experience, growing up grocery shopping was always done every Sunday. It was done pretty frequently considering my sister and I did not eat school lunch growing up. I remember always wondering off with my sister trying to find good deals on assorted goods. Even so, everything was still below $5. Things would be a lot different if I were to do that now. Now I can not get as much snacks due to the increase in prices. One thing I also noticed is that even if we wanted to change our diet to eating things much more healthier the prices of all plant based and other things are more expensive than a bag of Lays chips.
Quote:
“One study used long-term but high-frequency nutrition surveillance data from Bangladesh to descriptively show that when rice prices increase, households spend less on non-staple foods and child underweight (low weight-for-age) prevalence increases.”