Impact of Food Price Crisis on Nutrition

In developing countries, soar in food prices can lead to deteriorating nutrition, says health expert. The same consequences can be true for wealthier countries, as households opt for less expensive, poor quality foods. Hidden hunger is a problem across the globe. Iannotti and Miguel Robles, PhD, from the International Food Policy Research Institute examined the effects of food price hikes on calorie consumption in seven Latin American countries.During a food price crisis, households moved away from "luxury" food items such as meat, fish and dairy products to poorer quality food, she says.Using data from nationally representative household budget surveys, Iannotti and colleagues found that during a food price crisis:
1.Calorie intake  was reduced by an average eight percent from precrisis levels.2. Rural areas and urban areas were equally affected.3. Wealthiest households actually increased caloric intake, exceeding 10 percent of pre-crisis 

Source:MedIndia