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Table of Contents
Costs Associated with Goal- Oriented Diets
Food Production
Effects of Bad Eating Habits
Food Insecurity
Nutrition is an extremely important aspect of life. Humans need food to function, and one’s diet can positively or negatively affect physical health, life expectancy, mental health, and emotions. A “healthy diet” can be hard to define, but generally means the appropriate amount of calories, a balance of macronutrients, foods that include the necessary vitamins and minerals, and few heavily-processed foods. While a healthy diet can look different for everyone, the consequences of an unhealthy diet seem like they should be enough of a deterrent to persuade most people to eat as healthily as possible. However, there are a variety of factors that may make it difficult or impossible for a person to eat a nutritious diet, including higher food prices, food production issues, dietary restrictions, and reduced access to healthy grocery stores. Nutrition is a complex issue that cannot be understood only by categorizing foods as “healthy” and “unhealthy,” and instead requires the consideration of a variety of social issues.
Costs Associated with Goal-Oriented Diets
Costs Associated with Goal-Oriented Diets
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It’s very evident that in recent decades, society has grown to be severely fixated on different aspects of a diet. Individuals have specific goals that they want to achieve. Body builders prioritize specific aspects of their diet that promote the most success and progress towards their goals. In comparison, an individual trying to lose weight and live a healthier lifestyle will also have areas of their diet that they put added emphasis on. There are also many individuals who have dietary restrictions or medical circumstances which require them to follow a specific diet. Regardless of one's goals or what aspects of their diet they’re putting added effort into, there are barriers in nutrition that don’t always make consistent progress easy. In this way, nutrition can be discriminatory in some cases.
Supplements
Supplements
In a 2019 study done by the National Opinion Research center, a sample of 2,006 adults living in the United States were asked, “Which of the following supplements have you taken in the past year?” The results concluded that 49% of individuals took multivitamins, 46% took single vitamins (D, C, K, E, etc.), 32% took fish oil, and 16% took protein powders. (NORC, 2019) The numbers indicate that a good portion of the population prioritizes their diet. Many people are aware of areas of their diet that they can improve, so they might look to supplements to fill the gap. However, it's reasonable to suggest that these numbers could inflate if the prices of these items decreased. Some individuals may not have twenty to thirty dollars to allocate to fish oil or other supplements. While supplements can fulfill important nutritional gaps in a diet, not everyone views them as a necessity. Therefore, they are less likely to set money aside for supplements and they will prioritize a cheaper grocery order. It's clear that the cost of a goal-oriented diet is a barrier to reaching specific lifestyles.
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Economic Factors of Food Price Increases
The recent pandemic has strengthened the barrier of cost for a healthy diet in many cases. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in the calculation of the twelve month Consumer Price Index as of January 2023, the prices of at home food have increased by 11.3%. (BLS, 2023) Contributing factors to the large increase of food prices are high inflation, which rose over 7% at one point, supply chain issues, and the increase of the price of raw materials for production. Many companies have been taking on these costs and as a result, they had to pass them on to consumers as well.
Whole Foods Market
Whole Foods Market
Whole Foods Market has recently urged suppliers to lower their prices so that they could also lower their consumer prices. As a result of higher prices, grocery stores have been able to gross higher revenue and profit. Now, as inflation is starting to slow and the Federal Reserve is increasing interest rates, Whole Foods Market is looking to lower their high prices to make items more affordable. Whole Foods is differentiated from other grocery stres due to the company’s commitment to selling minimally processed foods. The store mainly fills their aisles with fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts, beans, fish, and eggs. Many view the market to offer healthier food choices compared to other stores. However, how many individuals were able to maintain a commitment to a healthier diet amid rising costs? (Kang, 2023)
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While Whole Foods Market’s rate of price increases were lower than the industry average, the foot traffic to stores decreased by 8% in the fourth quarter compared to the same quarter of the previous year. It’s clear that many individuals faced a cost barrier in terms of continuing to prioritize a healthier and goal oriented diet. According to a Whole Foods spokeswoman, the company has tried to absorb rising supply costs and work with suppliers to lessen the impact of inflation on consumers. Although the company showed a commitment to keeping prices low for consumers, they could only offset the impact so much. In this case, the cost of nutrition served as a barrier and nutrition was discriminatory against certain consumers. (Kang, 2023)
Whey Protein Powder
Whey Protein Powder
In a similar situation, the price of Whey protein powder has risen dramatically. While the rise in price is related to inflation and the general weakness of the economy, there are also supply chain issues unique to the situation that are causing the price of protein powder to increase. Some forms of protein come from the dairy production of cows. Coincidentally, global dairy production slowed down due to irregular climate changes. Mainly, cows became too stressed to produce sufficient amounts of milk due to heat and humidity, resulting in a scarcity of milk and dairy based proteins. It’s also gotten more expensive to feed cows. Data collected by Beef Magazine found feed prices were up by 16% in May 2022 compared to May 2021 due to high fertilizer prices and droughts. As a result of the rise in cost for suppliers, costs are passed on to buyers and ultimately consumers. (Bruno, 2023)
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Wrapping up Costs of Diets
Wrapping up Costs of Diets
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In essence, there is a barrier to proper nutrition that not everyone can overcome. For many, cost is the biggest barrier to reaching a higher level of nutrition or receiving the required nutrition for their circumstances. While the cost of nutrition is largely based on economic factors, factors such as climate conditions and animal behavior can also come into play and thicken the cost barrier of proper nutrition. While some grocery providers have tried to refrain from passing rising costs on to consumers, there is only so much that can be done to postpone the trickle down effect of rising grocery prices in the economy. For many reasons, cost serves as a massive hurdle for those wishing to receive proper nutrition for their dietary needs or for those looking to follow a goal-oriented diet.
Global Food Price Index Graph generated by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Food Insecurity
Food Insecurity
The food market is still facing inflation due to COVID-19: just within 2021, food prices rose by over 10% in all areas except for meat (Conte, 2021). Increased demand for at-home meals disrupted supply chains on top of climate/weather issues all contributed to these higher prices. This has made it hard for many people to eat the way they used to, even those who previously never had to worry about food insecurity.
A study by the Harvard School of Public Health revealed that diets “rich in fruits, vegetables, fish, and nuts” cost an average of $1.50 more per day, adding up to $45 more per month (Harvard, 2013). Although the price difference is much less than what most people might assume, it still has the potential to prevent people from eating healthy, particularly if they have dietary restrictions or children to provide for. This difference was calculated in 2013: since then, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, a healthy diet has been made inaccessible to even more people who may have become jobless or lost transportation to a healthy grocery store.
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What are Food Deserts?
What are Food Deserts?
One of the factors that most exacerbates food inequalities are food deserts. A food desert is an area with “few to no convenient options for securing affordable and healthy foods – especially fresh fruits and vegetables” (Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2021). This could be an urban neighborhood with no grocery stores, where most residents don’t have cars; buying fresh produce and other healthy foods would require taking public transportation to the grocery store, then carrying all the groceries back home on the bus. This limits the amount of food that they could buy at the time, meaning that they would have to take this inconvenient trip more often. After coming home from a tiring day of work, many would rather walk to a convenience store, deli, or other nearby food source that is either more expensive or less healthy.
Food deserts are most common in areas of poverty, where residents have low levels of education, low income, and high rates of unemployment. They are also disproportionately common in predominantly black areas, even between areas of similar poverty levels (Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2021).
Food Deserts Map from the Center for Disease Control
Although we often think of food insecurity in terms of adults, with the choice and power to buy the food they want, issues of food inequality also affect children with little to no control. School lunches, for instance, are notorious for their low quality food and low nutritional value. When a child is not given a balanced diet, their academic and athletic performance, mental well-being, and growth can suffer (Wilder Research, 2014).
What's wrong with school lunches?
What's wrong with school lunches?
School lunches, especially with free and reduced lunch programs, allow students access to food they need to function, which is great. However, school lunch programs need to serve higher quality food. Healthy and enjoyable lunches should not be limited to children whose parents have the time and money to pack a balanced lunch.
The federal government has guidelines in place which ensure that schools provide students with the proper amounts of all food groups: Michelle Obama is notorious for her work improving school lunch nutrition standards through her Healthy, Hunger Free Kids act. However, school lunches are affected by the same tight budget constraints as the rest of the education system. The cost of ingredients, labor, equipment, utilities, and indirect costs must all be covered by lunch prices, often below $2/student (School Nutrition Association, 2022). In order to make budget constraints, schools sometimes make ridiculous and unhealthy substitutions.
For example, in one case in Coweta, Georgia, went viral when a mom was outraged about the lunch provided to students at her son’s elementary school (KJRH-TV, 2017). The meal included a cup of yogurt as a replacement for meat, a few baby carrots for the vegetables, a tiny box of raisins for the fruit, and a bag of cheez-its for the grain. Because students only have to take 3 of the 5 options (fruit, veggies, milk, grain, and meat) for the food to qualify as a meal, this meal is technically valid even with these ridiculous replacements. Crystal Skinner, the mom in question, reacted as most adults would to this meal: “where’s the rest of your food?”
Although this is clearly an unacceptable lunch for a growing child, it’s not all the school’s fault. Public schools are often not given nearly enough funding, and it’s likely that schools like this are doing their best to provide students with all the resources they need. However, whether this was caused by loose guidelines, underfunding, or the school administration, we can agree that kids deserve more than a collection of snacks as their lunch. Considering that many of the children who are eating these school lunches are from lower-income families (School Nutrition Association, 2022), the failure of these lunches to provide these children with the nutrition they need exacerbates food inequalities. Without proper nutrition, students have been proven to perform worse academically: several studies have found that elementary students who eat more junk food and food with less nutritional value perform worse in both math and reading assessments (Wilder research, 2014). How can students from underprivileged backgrounds be expected to perform as well as others academically when they are set up for failure by their diets?
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Food Production
Food Production
In America as well as many other places, food production is a massive industry. The end goal of food production is to quickly place food in our markets for sale. Most production is coming from the “Big Food” industry, which supplies fast food franchises, super markets, “Big Meat” (slaughter houses, etc), and more. With a constantly growing population and the concern to have enough food for everyone, the mass production of food and its affordability is made possible “only by highly sophisticated food-production methods” (Deen). Many of these methods are being questioned with the concern as to how it affects the health and nutrition of others.
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Food Production Methods
Food Production Methods
In order to aid in the process of food production, many companies have utilized chemical methods for food preservation or to help Increase product.
Some of these methods Include:
GMO- Genetically modified organisms or genetic modification. A genetically modified organism Is an animal or plant who's DNA has been altered using engineering techniques. This process has been used “to increase crop yields and improve pest resistance.” There is the possibility in the future for GM to improve the nutritional value of crops, resist disease and allow them to survive situations such as frost, drought or flooding. (Deen)
Pesticides- Pesticides are used in agriculture to control weeds, insect infestation and diseases. There are many different types of pesticides. Each is meant to be effective against specific pests. Pesticide law defines a “pesticide” as:
Any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any pest.
Any substance or mixture of substances intended for use as a plant regulator, defoliant, or desiccant.
Any nitrogen stabilizer. (EPA, 2022)
Additives- Substances that are added to food to maintain or improve the safety, freshness, taste, texture, or appearance of food are known as food additives. Some food additives have been in use for centuries for preservation – such as salt, sugar, or sulfur dioxide. Food additives can be derived from plants, animals, or minerals, or they can be synthetic. They are added intentionally to food to perform certain technological purposes which consumers often take for granted. (WHO, 2018)
Pasteurization- Pasteurization involves heating liquids at high temperatures for short amounts of time. Pasteurization kills harmful microbes in milk without affecting the taste or nutritional value. It is important to pasteurize dairy products like milk because it can carry bacteria such as: Salmonella, E. coli, Listeria, Campylobacter, and others that cause food borne illness, often called food poisoning. These bacteria can seriously injure the health of anyone who eats raw dairy products. (FDA)
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Effects of Bad Eating Habits
Effects of Bad Eating Habits
Unhealthy food has become common amongst household pantries, without knowing the underlying consequences that come along with these choices. Many people are not aware of the effects of continuously eating food that is not beneficial to their nutrition. Understanding the power food has on the body can help maintain or even prevent physical health issues such as obesity, high cholesterol and even diabetes, diabetes being one of the most common illnesses caused by eating poorly (Lachance, 2020).These foods are labeled “Junk Foods” because of the amount of saturated and trans fat they have.
The higher the levels of these fats, the higher the levels of triglycerides which increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Over 10% of the U.S alone has diabetes, the most common type being Type 2, also known as adult onset diabetes. Unfortunately, the adult is not entirely to blame. Trying to find affordable and accessible beneficial food in the grocery store is next to impossible. By creating an environment where healthy food is accessible and affordable, the rate of diabetes would decrease due to finding food will not negatively affect physical health
Mental and Physical Health Effects
Mental and Physical Health Effects
Mental health is directly correlated to what we eat. If junk food and high sugar foods are constantly being consumed the brain is not receiving the nutrients it needs to work properly. The gastrointestinal tract is often referred to as the “second brain” due to the fact that they are inextricably linked. The relatively new study of neurogastroenterology, focusing on the similarities to your GI tract and your brian. For example, fiber helps the body digest sugar slower, helping prevent the body from having “sugar rushes'' or sugar crashes. This extensive network uses the same chemicals and cells as the brain to help us digest and to alert the brain when something is not right. This inadequate diet can also lead to fatigue, and can slow down reaction time. In fact, a poor diet can actually aggravate, and may even lead to, stress and depression. The evidence linking these illnesses have evolved over time from specific food choices, to the overall diet pattern of a person. Going after good-mood-foods can directly prevent negative health issues in the brain. The connection between diet and emotions stems from the close relationship between your brain and your gastrointestinal tract. Not understanding the connection between the two can impede a person's well being all around.
The higher the levels of these fats, the higher the levels of triglycerides which increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Over 10% of the U.S alone has diabetes, the most common type being Type 2, also known as adult onset diabetes. Unfortunately, the adult is not entirely to blame. Trying to find affordable and accessible beneficial food in the grocery store is next to impossible. By creating an environment where healthy food is accessible and affordable, the rate of diabetes would decrease due to finding food will not negatively affect physical health
Dietary Restrictions
Dietary Restrictions
There are some dietary restrictions and illnesses that also affect the way we eat. Oftentimes, there are obstacles that cause people to struggle with choosing the right foods. Accessibility and affordability of proper foods lead many families to have food insecurities. Whether it is a dietary need or religious need, the options of healthy and beneficial foods slowly become more limited. Celiac Disease is an autoimmune disease that affects your intestinal tract. It does not allow gluten and wheat to be digested. Trying to find gluten-free foods that are affordable, accessible, and nutritious complicates the options. Many of the issues regarding following a gluten-free diet result in people not receiving the correct nutrients and proteins their body needs, such as inadequate amounts of vitamins and minerals, specifically vitamin D, vitamin B12, folate, iron, magnesium, calcium, and zinc (Integrative). Inexpensive foods such as pastas and oatmeals are not accessible to many dietary restrictions. This issue occurs with Lactose intolerance as well. Due to the limited options available, many people with these restrictions are stuck with food that is not giving them the nutrients they need. Unfortunately, many families end up having to rely on food banks and other food assistance programs to help them afford these options.
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An unhealthy diet can be detrimental to one’s physical health, emotional stability, and academic and work performance. However, there are a variety of factors that may make it difficult or impossible for a person to eat a nutritious diet, including higher food prices, food production issues, dietary restrictions, and reduced access to healthy grocery stores. In order to build a healthy society, we must tackle complex social issues like food deserts and public school budgets, while considering other factors like dietary restrictions.
Authors
Authors
Ivy Hammett-Aron / B.S. in Architecture / May 2024
Michelle Tavares/ B.A Educational Studies/ May 2024
Colin Carreiro/ B.S. in Finance/ May 2025
Jenay Baker/ B.S. In Architecture / May 2023
References
References
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