Rising food prices could be leading society toward long-term health issues: professor

Despite its reputation for being unhealthy, ramen noodles have become a common go-to lunch for Windsor resident Chloe Dockrill — and while she admits it's a "cheap" and "quick" option, Dockrill says her nutritional habits have changed a lot in recent months due to inflation.

"It's way cheaper to just bring ramen then to go buy lunch every day when you don't have time to pack something," said Dockrill.

Ramen has always been known as a cheap alternative to most other food choices. However, that gap has only been exacerbated in recent months.

That's because inflation continues to force consumers to find new ways to stretch their dollars. In fact, a kinesiology professor at the University of Windsor says there is a direct correlation between higher food costs and overall health.

Dockrill acknowledges it's possible to eat healthy on a budget. But, as a full-time retail store employee, she says that's only possible if people have enough time in their day to do so.

"If you want to eat healthy and you want to be cheap, you have to be cooking. You need to buy all of the raw ingredients — and then they're going to go bad if you don't cook it," she said, adding she tries to cook when she can but the energy to do so isn't there after coming from work most days.

"So if you're working 40 hours a week and you have to take care of your apartment or whatever, you're not going to have time. You get home and then you just have time to go to sleep and wind down. That's pretty much it."

She's not the only one in the same situation. That's according to kinesiology professor Sarah Woodruff who points to existing research which, she says, shows a strong correlation between food insecurity and a strain on the health-care system.

"Before price inflation, about 10 to 15 per cent of Canadian households were food insecure," said Woodruff. "With this added cost of food, we're going to see those numbers increase."

"With that comes greater illness, greater mental health illness, increased visits to the ER and the doctor's office, greater impact on the healthcare system, as well as individual health if people are not getting those nutrients that they need."

That's not to say processed foods can always be considered as cheaper than fresh fruit or vegetables. Take the concept of "shrinkflation," for example, which has seen boxes get smaller while prices increase.

But, Woodruff said, the most expensive aspect of food is the waste left behind.

"It's all that food that you purchased at the grocery store, never touched and then it went bad," she said, adding the best way to reduce your individual level of food waste is to make a "food plan."

"Take five minutes before you go to the grocery store, take stock of what's in your pantry and fridge and make a list of a few meals that you want to have this week."