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Introduction
Health is one of the basic needs of humans, and being in a state of good health contributes to an individuals overall happiness. Maintaining good health is not just a role for medical practitioners; individuals, communities, and governments should actively participate in good health practices. One of the easiest and most effective ways to maintain good health is practicing good nutrition and eating habits. However, food insecurity and the lack of a constant and adequate supply of nutritious edibles to meet ones needs and preferences are major health concerns locally and globally. To mitigate the food insecurity issue and thus improve the whole persons health, it is imperative to address social and economic factors influencing individuals well-being. This paper aims to analyze and construct a plan to alleviate the food insecurity problem.
Food Insecurity Problem
The COVID-19 economic and social effects disrupted the food supply chain and impacted food insecurity, leading to adverse health outcomes. The social restrictions implemented by most governments to curb the spread of the virus have made access to healthy food supplements difficult. The pandemic has also worsened the economy, and the minor financial crisis caused by the pandemic has pushed many families back into poverty. As numerous studies have indicated, food insecurity has been an issue, even pre-COVID-19 times. In 2018, 11.1% of American households were considered food insecure at some point, and 4.3% experienced very low food security (Niles et al., 2020). Food insecurity leads to the intake of innutritious, inadequate food, resulting in various health implications and an inactive lifestyle. Common ailments associated with poor food intake include arthritis, asthma, coronary heart disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, cancer, and kidney disease. Medical practitioners agree that a good diet serves a big role in preventing these diseases.
Causes of Food Insecurity
Food insecurity is a global health public challenge, and tackling it requires knowledge of the causes. Each year approximately 300,000 people across the globe die due to complications brought on by food insecurity and malnutrition (Drammeh et al., 2019). The distribution of food insecurity is not even across demographic characteristics, income, or geography in the United States (Gundersen & Ziliak, 2018). Many people facing food insecurity also happen to be substantially poor, thus lacking basic resources owned abundantly by the affluent. The scarcity is worsened by the income disparity in both the United States and Canada, where the affluent and the middle-class control most resources, leaving almost nothing for the rest. If just a few people possess the most wealth, then the remaining population will likely face food insecurity. This income inequality continues to increase with the high class gaining more resources constantly while many people in the working class are relegated to poverty.
Many economically stable people are food insecure because of other constraints such as ignorance and geographical location. Most people are unable to afford the needed and preferred food supplements due to a constrained budget is a major food security threat (Niles et al., 2020). A wealthy individual living in an area with scarce distribution of resources may face food insecurity just as a poor person in an area of abundance may enjoy food security. For instance, Blacks and Latinos in the U.S. are likely to be more food insecure than whites for reasons beyond individual-level differences in socioeconomic status (Myers & Painter, 2017). According to Gundersen and Ziliak (2018), Americans living in the Midwest and Northeast experience fewer food insecurities, while those living in Mississippi, Delta, and Appalachia witness more cases. Thus, just as financial stability, ones location determines food insecurity.
Policymakers also need to be shrewd about climatic changes that form the main determinant of food insecurity. The issue is highly experienced among rural populations characterized by small-scale farming. This aspect makes the areas more vulnerable to changes in climate (AlpÃzar et al., 2020). Nevertheless, extreme climatic changes can influence the food security state of even urban centers if left unregulated. In the U.S., agriculture and other related industries contributed $835 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) in 2014 (McCarthy et al., 2018). Without appropriate technology, the level of food production depends on the prevailing climatic conditions. Other possible predictors of food insecurity include age, marital status, household composition, and type of housing tenure (Seivwright et al., 2020). Besides, ones buying habits, food culture, media, and social environment also influence what a person consumes (Marcone et al., 2020). Low income is the biggest predictor of food insecurity; however, high income does not guarantee food security.
How to Mitigate Food Insecurity Issues
Recognition of Food Insecurity as a Healthy Concern
Good health in the community is a variable of food security in that particular region. According to Mc Carthy et al. (2018), people are considered food secure when they can at all times have access to nutritious, safe, and sufficient food to meet their dietary needs. The Food and agricultural organization of the United Nations (FAO) has four security pillars: food availability, food access, food utilization, and food stability. Most medical practitioners identify various lifestyle determinants of good health, including giving up bad habits such as smoking and encouraging positive thinking, regular physical activity, and good sleep. However, most fail to include the subject of functional nutrition in their recommendations.
Health practitioners should inform the government on the various healthy foods that need to be made plenty to improve nutrition. Toribio-Mateas (2018) recommends that people, especially the elderly, have healthy nutrition comprising cottage cheese, fermented milk, seafood, fruit, and vegetables. These are normally expensive, and leaders need to be aware to make their supply sufficient, reducing costs. Geospatial data study concerned with obtaining, analyzing, and forming conclusions about different parts of the earth can also help local and international organizations recognize areas with food insecurity.
Offer Food Donations
The World Health Organization (WHO) should work closely with various food security organizations to ensure that individuals facing physical and mental health problems due to food insecurity are identified and helped. Families with many children and youth should be a key concern while choosing the individuals to receive the assistance. 34.5% of households with a child d 18 years old and 34.4% of households with children d 12 years old were food insecure by the end of April 2020, compared with 14.7% with children d 18 years and 15.1% with children d 12 years in 2018, respectively (Paslakis et al., 2020). Food-insecure families adopt restrictive feeding habits like skipping meals or consuming small portions. The households are also likely to consume particular diets known to be cheap but lack important nutrients. These habits have severe health consequences, including malnutrition, obesity, or weight loss. Indiscriminative programs should be set and budgets allocated to help those in need.
Improve the Global Food Security
Climatical factors mostly influence food production, and much of the sustenance produced globally goes to waste. At current levels, predictions state that global food production should be increased by 70% on already over-exploited finite infrastructures before 2050 (McCarthy et al., 2018). Thus, FAO and UNICEF should set up storage facilities to keep the food fresh for utilization when the need arises hence improving the food security of the globe. Local governments must collaborate with global world organizations to ensure this determinant of good health is well preserved. They should also make it their role to inform all individuals about the importance of maintaining good feeding habits.
Conclusion
Mitigating food insecurity as a health issue is not easy and requires all stakeholders to make a deliberate effort towards this matter. Extensive research has been done on this topic, and more still needs to be done. However, going forward, concrete actions to prevent food insecurity are vital. Given the importance of maintaining a good diet to an individuals health, doctors should first and foremost advise every patient they receive on the importance of good nutrition. As the custodians of health, medical experts should inform the administrations of the extent and severity of food insecurity. The governments should treat the food crisis as a major health issue and give it due attention. Even more important, every individual should ensure they take utmost care of themselves and their families and give good nutrition a priority in their budget. All stakeholders, including farmers, doctors, litigators, distributors, consumers, companies, and all those who are in one way or another involved in the scope of this study, should be consulted in policymaking.
References
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