There has been a changing landscape in the food industry over the last decade. As dual-income families grow, so has the proliferation of fast-food outlets, with the entrance of global mega-chains now sprouting up in hitherto quiet suburbs around Colombo.
 A nutritionist who recently returned after a working vacation in Sri Lanka said that “never have I been to a country with that much high quality fresh local produce, only to see the wealthiest eat the worst”. A quick look at spending patterns and the demographic profile of the average customer at global fast food chains point to potential future risks to personal finances as much as health.
The increased consumption of products from the global fast food industry amongst Sri Lankans will lead to a major increase in health care spent by the average household as they begin to age. The outbreak of obesity and type 2 diabetes alone will be a major strain on an already stretched public health care system. Most scientists agree on the causes of obesity. While human beings’ physical activity has declined significantly since their hunter-gatherer ancestors, their consumption of energy-dense food has remained stable or increased. And while it is easy to put on weight, it is much more difficult to lose it afterwards.
Social changes including urbanisation and industrialisation, with a shift towards more sedentary lifestyles, have played a role. Yet while these trends have been taking place over many generations, the explosion in obesity has taken place in the past decade, pointing to the primary role of changing food intake.
Social trends have led to the breakdown of well-prepared, regular and healthy family meals. In their place is industry-backed “hyper-eating” throughout the day, with a combination of aggressive marketing, widespread availability and supersized portions of “ultra-processed foods” containing ever more tempting but unhealthy combinations of fat and sugar.
The success of the global fast food cult in Sri Lanka has taken on the added social dimension of now being a “must have” for every middle-income family, at least once a week. And it is this positive social aspect accorded to what is generally considered “food for the poor” in most advanced economies that have left nutritionists and investors baffled.
For example, one of the key property valuation matrices used to assess high-end properties in many countries is to ensure the lack of any global junk-food outlets within a five kilometre radius. Research shows that there are more than five junk-food outlets in every working class suburb using data from Australia, UK and the USA, which property analysts use as a leading indicator of economic hardship. The opposite seems to be the case around Colombo. Parents rewarding children who do well in school with further “junk” only makes matters worse.
The financial cost of junk food does not take long to begin to bite. Researchers concede that anyone who begins to eat junk-food at age 15 is likely to start developing high blood pressure and pre-diabetes as early as by 30. Some scientists go so far as to say that South Asians can’t successfully cope with refined wheat, sugar and fat as Caucasians given that none of these ingredients were part of traditional diets. Using conservative and assuming some fast food intake along the way, it is estimated that health care costs can be as high as 80% of take home pay for an individual, but averages 35% across the population.
The oddity about the increasing occurrence of diabetes and obesity is that it has not had a major impact on increasing the average life expectancy and longevity. This is thanks to advances in medicines which have become excellent at making people live with a range of previously life threatening conditions. Not only will a person who develops a condition have to sacrifice a greater portion of their wages to ongoing medicine, but may have to do so for a very long time.
The early onset of various health conditions increases the costs of insurances all around, with life and disability cover increasing the most. The problem with junk food like with all addictions is that the costs are far away from the time you indulge to realise the full impact of your choices. With an information asymmetry and some of the most powerful advertising agencies behind the junk food industry, consumers have to fight harder to avoid the temptations.
What perplexed my nutritionist friend was the lack of enthusiasm for the most nutritious local produce, especially fruits and vegetables by the wealthiest segments of society. The only explanation seems to be people wanting to showcase their wealth by eating what has become socially acceptable without realising the serious downside effects. The best way to fight those bad habits is simply to avoid any food your great-grand mother wouldn’t recognise.
(Kajanga is an Investment Specialist based in Sydney, Australia. You can write to him at
kajangak@gmail.com). |
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