As we approach World Food Day on 16 October, Up4Debate asks, can Grahamstown afford to eat healthily?
As we approach World Food Day on 16 October, Up4Debate asks, can Grahamstown afford to eat healthily?
This week’s Up4debate looks at healthy eating and the often overlooked financial aspects of trying to lead a healthy lifestyle.
After a study done by the University of the Witwatersrand, the Department of Health is taking more seriously a proposed bill to tax sugar-sweetened beverages. This, alongside the popularity of the Tim Noakes Banting diet shows South Africa's increasing interest and awareness of health issues.
But in a town where 19 000 residents have no income at all, the show investigates who's in a position to make positive lifestyle changes. Using the knowledge of dieticians and social science personnel, this week’s show tries to answer the question: can Grahamstown afford to eat healthily?
Chris Booth (Health journalism Master’s Student): “When they go, especially the poorer people, they only want to go once a month, so they want those things with a long shelf-life that are cheaper.”
Helen de Vos (Community Service Dietician): “It basically boils down to food groups. Have a balanced diet." 
Harry Dugmore (Director of the Discovery Centre for Health Journalism): “We’re the most unequal country in the world and we have to remember that there’s a whole other side to this crisis of obesity, that there are a lot of people who go to bed hungry every night.”
Lorraine Weissenberg (Weigh-Less group leader): “It starts with us individuals that are professionals in this town that are working with people who want to be healthy. You’ve got to reach out to these people and its one person at a time.”
