1. Income Constraints

• Lower-income households: These families prioritize cost-effective, energy-dense foods like cereals and proteins (rice, noodles, eggs, chicken) over micronutrient-rich foods like fruits and vegetables due to budget limitations.
• Higher-income households: Even with more disposable income, these households may suffer from malnutrition due to the overconsumption of calories, fat, salt, and sugar, often from eating out or consuming fast food.

2. Time Poverty

• Busy lifestyles: Many Malaysians, especially in urban areas, have limited time for meal preparation due to long working hours, traffic congestion, and additional responsibilities like household chores and childcare.
• Convenience: The rise of food delivery services reflects a lack of time for cooking, with convenience often taking precedence over nutritional value.

3. Influence of Advertising

• Children and teenagers: Advertising, particularly for fast food, significantly influences the dietary choices of younger individuals, leading to a preference for unhealthy options.

4. High Cost of Healthy Food

• Rising prices: The increasing cost of fresh and healthy foods makes them less accessible, particularly for low-income households. This economic barrier pushes families toward cheaper, processed alternatives.

5. Social and Environmental Factors

• Wage stagnation: Limited income growth relative to the cost of living forces families to allocate more of their budget to essentials like housing and utilities, leaving less for nutritious food.
• Traffic congestion: Long commutes reduce the time available for meal preparation, leading to a reliance on quick, often unhealthy food options.
• Care demands: Working women and busy families juggling multiple roles find it challenging to make time for cooking healthy meals.

Policy and Market Interventions

The KRI paper suggests strengthening policies like the sugar tax, Healthier Choice Logo, and advertising guidelines to address these disparities in food choices. Additionally, encouraging greater accessibility to healthy food options and promoting nutritional education can help mitigate these issues.