Introduction
There is a significant interdependent relationship between healthy living and dietary habits. Nutrition is a leading health challenge for the US population: the prevalence of the overweight community in both male and female groups (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021). The inaccessibility to proper feeding habits caused by inadequate funds and knowledge contributes to the prevailing situation of reduced life expectancy (Jayanama et al., 2018; Bowen et al., 2018). However, Long et al. (2020) articulate an interdependent relationship between food insecurity and imbalanced wealth and information distribution across the country. Decker and Flynn postulate that the concept influences the increasing number of chronic illness cases. As a result, Valladares et al. (2021) establish that one of the strategies to alleviate the issue encapsulates the improvement of malnutrition perspectives through adoptive wellness habits. The introduction of malnutrition quality improvement initiatives is beneficial for addressing food insecurity (Valladares et al., 2021). This study seeks to assess the solution to the malnutrition issue in Maryland State, US. The nutrition intervention is a beneficial means of addressing and resolving the issue of increasing chronic disease incidence and health costs.
Food Insecurity in Maryland, U.S
To begin with, one of the prominent issues facing the American community and mainly Maryland state residents is hunger. In the research by Lim et al. (2019), the authors indicate food insecurity as an imminent problem within the region, and at least 39% of the households risk facing starvation. As a result, it is crucial to assess the aspects that maintain the interdependent relationship between adequate food provision and the adoption of better feeding habits (Niles et al., 2020). One of the major solutions to the issue glorifies the use of meals-on-wheels services within Maryland as a sustainability initiative to elevate the trickle-down effect of the accrued benefits.
Literature Review
Overview of Food Insecurity
Income Inequality
Undoubtedly, food affordability is an essential factor across the global population and Maryland residents specifically, considering that the influence of capitalism is increased. According to the research by Buonomo et al. (2019), a family’s unstable or poor socio-economic status leads to poor nutrition patterns and catalyzes both obesity and weight loss. Burgoine et al. (2017) argue that poverty is one of the primary reasons for the high consumption rate in fast food restaurants that initially stems from people being scared of suffering from food insecurity. The modern economic situation of most American residents accounts for the increase in the consumption rate in fast food restaurants.
It seems insignificant whether low-income families may lack cooking skills expertise, the main question still lies in the affordability of the groceries and communal services. Obviously, people eat at fast-food restaurants as they offer a cheaper alternative to home-cooked and expensive meals for low-income families. Nevertheless, some fast-food restaurants may harm their customers’ health since their foods contain significant carbohydrates, fat, and sodium (Wolfson & Leung, 2020). Burgoine et al. (2018) depict that such inequities as education, occupation, and income cause the considerable interdependence between fast-food restaurants and low-income families in the USA. By and whole, fast-food restaurants offer foods with a percentage of carbohydrates that increase fat deposits in the body and, due to the affordability, promote high consumption rates among low-income families. Unfortunately, the cheap costs of the meals might stem from the fact that the products of not exceptional quality might provoke food poisoning or other severe health issues.
Food Deserts
There is a common belief that one of the most contributing factors to food insecurity is the so-called food deserts, or neighborhoods and rural areas with limited access to supermarkets. The significance of this issue is overestimated, and it would be more beneficial to allocate access to meals in terms of offsetting prices for goods and providing healthy nutrition options to low-income families (Zhen, 2021; Allcott et al., 2017). Furthermore, the emergence of fast-food restaurants intensified the rate of unhealthy feeding habits across different social groups. Burgoine et al. (2018) investigated the relationship between fast foods, unhealthy living, and poverty levels among Americans and concluded the significance of assessing the urbanization impact on the fight against timorousness in food affordability.
However, another issue is that the supermarkets that sell products to Maryland residents in the food deserts might contribute to the customers’ health issues. To be more particular, popular supermarket chains are not located in such districts and, therefore, most stores are run by a few people who seek the organizations that transport foods. Still, it seems challenging for small shops to establish a stable operating system. Due to small numbers of customers, they cannot constantly purchase fresh produce in needed amounts. In addition, their partners do not sell them products in bulk, and, eventually, the prices for small supermarket businesses are considerably higher. Sometimes, Maryland residents might buy spoiled products for high prices as they do not wish to commute to the city center to reliable stores. As a result, citizens of this state may suffer from health issues and enormous treatment costs at hospitals.
Race and Ethnicity
Over the decades, the critical social issue affecting Americans is discrimination attributed economically through the spectral view of the impact of capitalism. That is why racial and ethnic minorities are some of the most vulnerable groups in terms of food insecurity (Myers & Painter, 2017). Much evidence demonstrates lower food security rates among Black and Latino communities in Maryland (Leung & Tester, 2019; Walker et al., 2021). Therefore, addressing vulnerable populations in nutrition promotion programs, such as Meals on the Wheels, seems vital. In this case, the regulation of feeding habits can significantly affect different ethnic communities of Maryland due to the profound food insecurity.
COVID-19 Pandemic
The decreasing employment rates and harsh economic situation in the US due to the COVID-19 outbreak have influenced the income of many families in the state of Maryland. Therefore, many people cannot afford to purchase high-quality fresh produce and, consequently, suffer from malnutrition (Wolfson & Leung, 2020). The increased numbers of families who experience food insecurity pose an urgent need to establish governmental initiatives. It appears significant for nonprofit relief resources to focus on providing individuals with affordable food choices to decrease the negative impact of the malnutrition gap (Gundersen et al., 2021; Loopstra, 2020). Thus, interference from the government is highly needed to protect citizens from severe health issues.
Adverse Health Effects
Obesity
There is a profound relationship between fast foods and obesity, mainly due to business managers’ target population. The rise of fast-food restaurants owes to the element of effectively establishing particular interests across the community, such as cheap prices and fast preparation of meals. Therefore, Burgoine et al. (2018) agree that fast food is causative for non-communicable diseases. Ideally, fast-food restaurants offer a multidimensional influence on society, including the transformation in lifestyle behaviors. Consequently, Burgoine et al. (2018) conclude that approximately 65% of American residents suffer from obesity in rural and urban parts of the country. The significant difference between the fast-food industry and the American traditional feeding habit is the balance of nutrients and cooking.
Food and Drug Administration must address the concept of food regulation and especially dietary information to the consumers. Despite the efforts of the administration to enhance the display of dietary information, it seems that the establishment of the significance of proper food consumption concepts is unsuccessful. The inadequate awareness among people cultivates minimal impact on healthy living in the state of Maryland as well. As a result, Food and Drug Administration must implement a policy that initiates a dietary awareness campaign to boost the effectiveness of food regulation approaches.
Diabetes
A higher health index means optimal productivity and interaction among individuals within a society. Studies suggest that people from food-insecure households are almost twice as likely to obtain the second type of diabetes (Tait et al., 2018). The analysis of the US national data shows that people with diagnosed diabetes are 81% likely to be food insecure (Walker et al., 2018). Increasing food security levels is potentially an asset to diabetes prevention in the US and Maryland, specifically. However, the sedentary lifestyle significantly affects people and contributes to one of the common health problems, insulin-based sickness. Due to the prevalent state of the illness, the American government incorporated policies concerning regulating learners’ diets in schools and advertising unhealthy foods (Nieto-Martinez et al., 2017). This disease involves the ineffective use of insulin in the body attributed to such factors as physical inactivity and excess body weight. As a result, it is the responsibility of individuals to actively engage in activities intensifying body metabolism as a form of alleviating the risks of disorder.
Other Health-Related Effects
The lack of a balanced diet fosters a significant effect on the well-being of American consumers due to the insufficient supply of necessary nutrients. Inconsistent diet and inaccessibility to nutrition such as fruit and vegetables lead to iron deficiency, especially in infants, preschoolers, and pregnant women (Moradi et al., 2018; Kazemi et al., 2020). As a matter of fact, nutrition support is critical for young mothers and pregnant women. Food insecurity, while a prevalent issue among students, is explicitly correlated with poor academic performance and low GPA rates in the U.S. (Weaver et al., 2019). Apart from physical correlation, there is a psychological factor that makes malnutrition severely impact the students’ performance (Raskind et al., 2018). Food insecurity tends to deteriorate the cognitive-perceptual function of children and older adults as well (Grineski et al., 2018; Na et al., 2020). People struggling with food insecurity are highly likely to struggle with depression, anxiety, and irritability (Poumotabbed et al., 2020). Besides, exposure to food insecurity at a young age elevates the risk of asthma incidence later in life (Mangini et al., 2018). Overall it is clear that there is a growing need for community nutrition support concerning awareness of proper food intake.
Future Implications of Food Insecurity
The intervention by the government concerning nutritional support is of detrimental value when it comes to alleviating food insecurity across different regions. Approximately 11% of the state population is food insecure, but the rate is 18% in Baltimore, one of the poorest cities in Maryland (Rice, 2021). Therefore, the government establishing initiatives to support low-income individuals to provide affordable fresh produce in their districts is highly advised. As a result, the government is in need of allocating funds to eliminate the food deserts so that every resident of Maryland can afford to buy groceries in the neighborhood. As for older people, they might not able to accomplish proper food intakes unless the program of Meals on the Wheels is supported.
Besides, it is vital to encourage people to healthy nutrition by establishing a program that can encourage people to follow the rules of proper and healthy nutrition. This way, people might become more focused on their food intakes, decreasing the severe effects of food insecurity. Still, the government should establish programs to educate Maryland residents on adequate nutrition to promote awareness of food insecurity’s repercussions. Furthermore, these programs can also target low-income individuals for identifying methods of smart allocation of funds on products that are less costly but still fresh and of high quality.
That is why the state of Maryland should focus on attracting investors to support charities and nonprofit organizations that might contribute to sustaining the before-mentioned programs and initiatives. In addition, charity members should also seek funds for establishing nutrition supply to the schools in the state. In other words, healthy intakes in the form of lunches should be ensured for students so that the youth does not suffer from the repercussion of food insecurity: depression, anxiety, irritability, and inadequate academic performance.
Conclusions
Consequently, food insecurity is an initiative that threatens social growth and development. It is essential to establish the inherent value of stakeholder involvement to improve the living quotient among the residents of Maryland State specifically. One of the future initiatives is the enhancement of the problem’s alleviation by providing government support through the different grant programs and food incentives. Food and Drug Administration profoundly contribute to the promotion of healthy living among Americans through regulatory policies. However, older people who cannot commute to the stores and afford money on paying communal services for home food preparation should be supported with the program of the meals on the wheels.
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