Most families in Israel cannot afford to purchase products needed to prepare healthy, nutritious meals, according to a study conducted at Ariel University. It also emerges that the daily cost of a basic food menu per person in Israel is 3 times higher than its cost in rich countries around the world.
The study examined the ability of Israelis to purchase a healthy basket as defined by the Ministry of Health. The researchers, clinical dietitian Naama Degania Yaroslavich and Dr. Vered Kaufman, examined a daily menu that includes a breakfast of 2 slices of bread, cheese, omelet and vegetable. At lunch - rice dish, chicken breast and vegetable salad and in the evening - toast with yellow cheese and tomato and two more fruits during the day.
The study, presented at the annual conference of the Israel National Institute for Health Policy Research, compared the cost of a basic nutritious diet, as detailed, with the percentage of families in Israel who can purchase it. The results showed that the cost of the recommended menu per household is 5,500 NIS per month per family.
According to the study, only 40% of the population is able to purchase the recommended menu. For 60% of Israelis, the cost of a basket of healthy food products is higher than what they are used to spending on food.
In the opinion of the researchers, it is reasonable to assume that in light of the recent increase in food prices and the cost of living, it is reasonable to assume that the prices are even higher and more worrying than those appearing in the study.
Direct link to health
According to Naama Degania Yaroslavitch, "There is a direct link between food consumption and quality and negative health outcomes, such as a tendency to develop diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular and other chronic diseases, and even attention deficit problems, fertility problems and depression, in adults, youth and children. The farther one moves from Tel Aviv and the center and closer to the periphery, the less the household's ability to purchase the menu decreases, both because food prices change and because the composition of the family is different. For example, in Jerusalem, the chances of being able to afford the necessities needed for a basic nutritious diet for the entire household are the lowest, because the number of children in the family is high."
More than any cure
Prof. Zohar Landau, a specialist in pediatric endocrinology at Meuhedet Health Services: "Nutrition has a tremendous impact on our health, more than any drug. A healthy diet requires effort and money and it doesn't have to be that way. When uniform bread costs 7.90s and wholemeal bread ranges from 16s to 26s, it's 'not forces'. Until this balance of power changes, it will be difficult to ensure that families of lower socioeconomic status can eat healthy foods."
"The abolition of the sugar tax on sugary drinks, for political considerations and not for public health considerations,"
Adv. Orit Blanca, Head of Government Relations at the "From Today" Association for a Healthy Lifestyle: "They talk about poverty and every time they set up another committee and talk about food stamps.
"In the end, nothing changes and we're left with unhealthy products. The cancellation of the sugar tax on sugary drinks, for political considerations rather than public health considerations, is also discouraging," Blanca concludes.
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