SMP Cendekia Harapan 0322230150

Unhealthy Food and Healthy Food

Alya Maisarah Binti Dahlan

1. Introduction

Each year, chronic diseases such as heart disease, type-2 diabetes, and obesity account for
70% of all deaths in the United States, which is caused by having a poor diet (CDC, 2020).
The study from GBD 2017 Diet Collaborators (2019), estimates that one in five deaths
globally, approximately 11 million deaths are associated with poor diet, and diet contributes
to a range of chronic diseases in people around the world. Unhealthy dietary choices, marked
by the excessive consumption of fast-food and junk-food have become a concerning issue,
(Popkin, 2022).

Seeing the symptoms, the problems behind them is that many people died due to the
excessive unhealthy eating and poor diets, which would lead to chronic illnesses or even
worse, death.

I think that the problems are caused by a lack of value/importance placed on a healthy life,
lack of nutrition security, an uncontrollable desire to eat unhealthy foods. People who
struggle to differentiate nutritional values may find it hard to make healthy choices. A lack of
willingness to prioritise healthy eating hinders adopting a balanced diet. Additionally, the
shortage of affordable and convenient healthy food options is a barrier to better eating habits.
Improving dietary habits generally and encouraging a healthier lifestyle require addressing
these factors.

There have been several studies that attempt to tackle the root of the problem. In 2014,
Sigman-Grant et al. conducted research on the education and capability to differentiate
between unhealthy and healthy foods in preschoolers. a total of 191 preschoolers from
Nevada and 128 from Connecticut, New Jersey, and Oklahoma, in the United States were the
study population. This study attempts to solve the lack of education and capability on how to
differentiate between unhealthy and healthy foods by using a 24-lesson program taught by
trained instructors. They found that there was a statistically significant improvement in
identification scores from pre- to post-study for both groups from Nevada. Outcome
comparison between Nevada and three other states demonstrated generalizability of the study
tool. However, their solutions to that particular root of the problem have weaknesses. The
researchers conducted their lessons by showing photographs of 18 foods to preschoolers, and
they were encouraged to categorise them with Go or Woah. This method would not be as
effective for teenagers as they would have a tendency to pick skewed answers for other
reasons like to seem funny, or to seem like they know every food. Further, the inability to
measure food intake during meal and snack times at home or in child care centres was one of
the study's main limitations as this made it impossible to assess how the program affected the
students' actual food consumption outside of the experiment.
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Later on in 2017, DeCosta et al. conducted research on changing children's eating behaviour,
preschool children aged 3–5 years, USA. This study attempts to solve the lack of willingness
to eat healthy food by using a systematic review on articles in Medline (Ovid)/Cab abstract
(Ovid) and Web of Science (Core Collection). They found that the most effective ways to
change children’s eating behaviour were the gardening and cooking programs, as they
encouraged greater vegetable consumption and led to a larger effect compared to nutrition
education. However, it is important to note that the reviewed gardening programmes all
included tasting and cooking sessions, which in themselves are likely to exert an effect on the
outcomes in question.(DeCosta, 2017)

Moreover in 2013, Smith et al. conducted research on Interventions to improve access to

fresh food in vulnerable communities. This study attempts to solve the lack of accessibility of
healthy food options by using community gardens to provide access to healthy food in food
desert communities. They found community gardens to be the most effective method in some
areas, however there was only minimal impact on food access issues in urban communities
due to seasonal accessibility and low yield. Community gardens are hard to maintain in
countries such as Indonesia, due to non supporting climate conditions, lack of resource
abundance and advanced agricultural technologies.(Smith, 2013)

The purpose and objective of this research is to solve the problem. I can do that by looking
through other researchers' solutions and fix or add the parts that they could have missed
inside that solution. For instance, I can use the solution from Sigman-Grant et al. which was
using a 24-lesson program which was taught by instructors who were trained, and improve
that solution by adding things that they have missed. Instead of restarting that whole solution,
I can improve it so that I am able to fix, or add parts that they could have missed while doing
the research.
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2. Literature Review

2.1. Maths
Lack of education and capability to differentiate between healthy & unhealthy food is due to
an unequal importance placed on food/health education compared to academic subjects(For
instance, Booth, 2020). In Math, we’ve learned that where there is a lack of symmetry,
problem solving becomes difficult as there are no patterns. So this imbalance in educational
priorities have contributed to the continuing problem of excessive fast-food consumption due
to lack of knowledge.

2.2. English
The modern world is getting advanced, but also stranger. These days, fast food and snacks are
common foods consumed by kids, which can be unhealthy if consumed in excess. Studies
show that when someone tries to choose healthy food but doesn't succeed, they are more
likely to choose something unhealthy. This is the modern world, almost everyone can ‘do
whatever they want’ but they also have to control doing whatever they want and take
responsibility. The modern world was expected to have geniuses and smart people, but I
assume that now, there are just people eating junk food or healthy food all over the place in
general.

2.3 Other Theories

Let's talk about cost. Due to the high cost, access to healthy foods is not accessible. Real food
prices have increased due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global food
system. Several studies have applied a health lens to identify the foods most affected. Cost of
the recommended diet increased by 17.9%; mainly last year, when healthy food prices
increased 12.8%. Income levels, income shocks and rising costs of living are key
determinants of economic access to healthy food. Because they live in a "food desert," many
communities struggle to find wholesome food. "Urban areas or rural towns that do not have
easy access to fresh, healthy, and affordable food" (USDA) is the definition of these food
deserts. In food deserts, families must travel long distances to get to the nearest grocery store.

An increased risk of numerous chronic diseases is linked to inadequate resources and

restricted access to nutrient-dense foods. About 26% of the world's population experiences
moderate to high levels of food insecurity and lacks regular access to healthy, nutritious
foods. The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) shows that price fluctuations in
these fresh produce, coupled with disrupted supply chains and reduced incomes, are making
food access and purchasing difficult.
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3. Methods

To achieve improved solutions, I will look back on the existing solutions and identify their
weaknesses. After identifying their weaknesses, I will use thought experiments with theories
from my literature review section to determine whether the solutions would be appropriate or
not. In finding the resources for my literature review I will not only use external sources from
the journal articles but also things I have learned in Grade 8. When searching for journal
articles, I will use keywords which are related to my root causes, for example: differentiating
between healthy and healthy food and accessibility of food.

4. Results and Discussion

4.1. Free Vouchers for everyone!

This method will include the idea of giving out free vouchers for those who are struggling, or
nearly everyone! It will be conducted in places that are known to have less availability of
healthy foods like Benoa Square(Bali) and Discovery Shopping Mall(Bali), or I could create
my own (on healthy foods). With this idea, I can attempt to fix the problem of the lack of
accessibility to healthy foods due to the cost, as some places that sell healthy food are usually
expensive, from the price range of approximately 30 to 40k IDR. Another thing I can do is
that I can put these ideas to locations where healthy food would usually not be so people can
try them to fix the problem of the lack of accessibility to access healthy food options due to
location. To tackle the problem of the lack of accessibility to healthy foods due to resource
availability, it would be hard, as there isn't exactly that much of availability, although there
are a lot of vegetables and fruits. With those, I can attempt to implement these three ideas into
one. For instance, I create a small stall and sell healthy food for free, and I will be conducting
the stall near a grocery store that multiple people go to.

Making free vouchers for everyone was a little complicated, but it wasn't that bad! The fact
that after doing this method, more people were encouraged to try and eat healthy food since
its cost was practically free, its location was a good place, and the resource availability was
great! I tried to make it near a grocery store in Discovery Shopping Mall(Bali) and at first, It
took some time for it to take hold. What I have covered from this method is that, once people
find something suitable for themselves, like for example, the price is good, they would
sometimes rather take that offer instead of paying(My assumption).

4.2. Grocery shopping simulations

To tackle the problem of the lack of education for differentiating healthy and unhealthy food,
this may only be applicable to children. I could create simulations such as grocery shopping
simulations to see what the children like and don't like. I can try to teach them how to
differentiate and pick the right foods. For instance, I can use tables and put healthy food on
one side, and unhealthy food on one side. I will collect the data and attempt to calculate the
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type of food children would rather pick. Once I have gathered the information, I can teach the
children who would rather pick unhealthy foods instead of healthy foods on how to
differentiate them and which one is better for them.

From the simulations, the data collected was not so bad. Approximately, about 40% of
children would rather pick healthy food than unhealthy food, which was a good percentage,
but also pretty bad. The other 60% picked unhealthy food, so I took action upon that. I
educate them on how to differentiate healthy and unhealthy food. After joining the
simulation, children could identify and categorise the types of foods and even started to make
their own grocery list for healthy recipes for their own meals.

4.3. Let's eat healthy!

To try and tackle the problem of the lack of willingness to eat healthy food, I can conduct a
type of workshop which encourages children and/or people to eat healthier food, the entry
cost would be free and will be available for anyone to join. People who do join the workshop
will be asked to try and find healthy food from their homes and bring it to the school, once
that's done, I will ask them to try and make something healthy out of the food they brought, I
will review each one of them and ask them to try it out! They are allowed to use each other's
healthy foods since it's going to be something like a group project. As they work together,
they are able to not only have fun, but have the willingness to eat healthy food they have
made! Once they finish making the food, I will check if they have all made healthy foods and
will ask them to try it out. If they like that specific type of food and put it into their meal they
have made, it could encourage them to be confident in eating it.

When the workshop was conducted, its aim was to encourage children and/or people to eat
healthier food. For the preschoolers, when they were asked to try and find healthy and good
food around their house and bring them the next day. About 7% of children mixed up healthy
and unhealthy food instead. When they were doing the meals, I noticed that they like working
with each other and they helped each other think of ideas on how to make the meal good for
themselves. On the other hand, children from the range of 12-14 joined the program and I
have noticed some changes. Most of them brought healthy foods, but about 4 of the children
accidentally brought some healthy foods, so i tried to explain to them why they weren't
healthy and they just used the others that they brought. As they were inspected while making
the foods, it was a similar thing that happened for the preschoolers. For the final results, the
preschoolers and children have successfully learned and now know how to make healthy
food. They were assisted to make some choices when they got confused and they started to
understand.

4.4. Discussion
From the food stalls, to simulations, what I have realised is that everything takes time
when people want to choose what they want to eat. Children don't take that much time since
they know what they want and like, but I appreciated the fact that they tried to participate in
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the grocery shopping simulation and the “Let’s eat healthy!” workshop. Trying to achieve the
best results with these methods was hard, but it was successful.

5. Conclusion

Improving dietary habits and encouraging a healthier lifestyle requires addressing the lack
of education and capability on how to differentiate between unhealthy and healthy foods, lack
of willingness to eat healthy food, and lack of accessibility to healthy food options. Solutions
such as free vouchers, grocery shopping simulations, and workshops can help address these
issues, but it is more important to consider the limitations and effectiveness of each solution.
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6. References
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Akinyemiju, T., Alahdab, F., Bacha, U., Bachman, V. F., Badali, H., Badawi, A., &
Bensenor, I. M. (2019). Health effects of dietary risks in 195 countries, 1990–2017: a
systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. The Lancet,
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2) CDC. (2020). Access to Healthy Foods. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
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ier-food.html

3) DeCosta, P., Møller, P., Frøst, M. B., & Olsen, A. (2017). Changing children’s eating
behaviour - A review of experimental research. Appetite, 113, 327–357.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2017.03.004

4) Forouhi, N. G., & Unwin, N. (2019). Global diet and health: old questions, fresh
evidence, and new horizons. The Lancet, 393(10184), 1916–1918.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(19)30500-8

5) Hallum, S. H., Hughey, S. M., Wende, M. E., Stowe, E. W., & Kaczynski, A. T.
(2020). Healthy and unhealthy food environments are linked with neighbourhood
socio-economic disadvantage: an innovative geospatial approach to understanding
food access inequities. Public Health Nutrition, 23(17), 3190–3196.
https://doi.org/10.1017/s1368980020002104

6) Love, P., Booth, A., Margerison, C., Nowson, C., & Grimes, C. (2020). Food and
nutrition education opportunities within Australian primary schools. Health
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7) Popkin, B. M. (2022). Does excessive fast-food consumption impair our health? The
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
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8) Sogari, G., Velez-Argumedo, C., Gómez, M., & Mora, C. (2018). College Students
and Eating Habits: A Study Using An Ecological Model for Healthy Behavior.
Nutrients, 10(12), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10121823

9) Sigman-Grant, M., Byington, T. A., Lindsay, A. R., Lu, M., Mobley, A. R., Fitzgerald,
N., & Hildebrand, D. (2014). Preschoolers Can Distinguish Between Healthy and
Unhealthy Foods: The All 4 Kids Study. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior,
46(2), 121–127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2013.09.012
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10) Ziso, D., Chun, O. K., & Puglisi, M. J. (2022). Increasing Access to Healthy Foods
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