PETALING JAYA – More children from low-income families in Kuala Lumpur have fewer than three meals a day, as families try to cut back on spending due to rising food costs and the escalating cost of living.
Financial constraints have forced nearly 40 per cent of breadwinners in such households to work longer hours and cut back on food consumption and spending on non-food items, according to a UN-backed study involving 755 low-income households in Kuala Lumpur.
About 52 per cent of the children surveyed ate fewer than three meals a day, compared with 45 per cent before the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Children are disproportionately affected by the prevailing circumstances, with a significant portion of them enduring food insecurity, a situation that has intensified since the pandemic,” said the report titled Living On The Edge: Longitudinal Study On Post-Covid-19 Impact Assessment Among Low-income Households In Kuala Lumpur.
This nutritional deficit extends to children in female-headed households and those in households led by people with disabilities, highlighting the universality of the challenge, it added.
Malaysia announced a transition to the Covid-19 endemic phase on April 1, 2022, although the pandemic had not been officially declared over.
The UN study aimed to find out how families whose median incomes are near RM3,000 (S$857) per month are coping with the rise in food prices and other living costs since the pandemic.
“Children, most of whom have health problems, also eat less – with one out of every two eating fewer than three times a day,” the study said.
The households have been part of a series of earlier studies in May 2020, September 2020, December 2020 and March 2021, which tracked the impact of the pandemic and its lockdowns on low-income families.
Eight out of 10 households said they are struggling to earn enough to meet their daily needs, up from the pandemic era when seven out of 10 reported experiencing this hardship.
Ninety per cent of households said they were affected by the rise in the cost of living, especially in food prices, with about 50 per cent saying that they are financially worse off than in 2022.
Six in 10 households, including those headed by women and people with disabilities, cited high prices as a major obstacle hindering their ability to provide nutritious meals to their children.
Two in 10 respondents cited time constraints and the affordability of fast food as further obstacles for families in giving nutritious meals to their children.
The study said: “Dietary habits have undergone notable changes, characterised by increased consumption of eggs, rice and instant noodles.
“Approximately seven in 10 households now report spending more on eggs – the most affordable protein source – compared with 52 per cent during the pandemic.
“Similarly, seven in 10 households also indicated increased spending on rice, compared with the four in 10 during the same period.”
The consumption of unhealthy food options also rose, with 46 per cent turning to instant noodles, compared with 40 per cent during the pandemic.
The financial pinch has taken a toll on mental health, with three in four households admitting that the rising cost of living had affected them mentally.
“Depression rates have worsened. The proportion of households reporting feelings of depression increased from 21 per cent in September 2020 to 28 per cent in October 2023.
“This trend remains consistent for female-headed households, with rates hovering around 28 per cent to 29 per cent during this period, although there was a notable increase from 22 per cent in March 2021,” the report said.
The report also provided six key suggestions for mitigation measures.
These include care allowance for all children from before birth until the age of two, allowance for the disabled, more social aid and increasing awareness of sexual, reproductive and mental health.
THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
