Cheah, Yong Kang and Sameeha, Mohd Jamil and Che Wel, Che Aniza and Mohd Sakri, Anis Munirah and Sivabalan, Shashidharan and Phulkerd, Sirinya and Borazon, Elaine Q. and Poh, Bee Koon (2025) Factors influencing expenditure on unhealthy foods among the urban poor in Malaysia. Malaysian Journal of Economic Studies, 62 (2). pp. 277-299. ISSN 15114554

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Abstract

Consumption of unhealthy foods possesses harmful effects on health, thereby increasing the disease burden. If low-income people, especially those living in urban areas, do not make efforts to reduce their consumption on unhealthy foods, the health‒economic costs borne by them will rise. To date, there is a growing number of Malaysian studies that examine factors affecting consumption expenditure on unhealthy foods, but none has paid attention to the urban poor. The objective of this study is to narrow this research gap. A seemingly unrelated regressions model was utilised to estimate the effects of sociodemographic and health factors on expenditure of oil and fats, processed foods, sugar-sweetened beverages and alcoholic drinks. Income and household size were positively associated with expenditure on unhealthy foods. Individuals who were between 61 and 70 years old had higher expenditure on unhealthy foods than their younger counterparts. The Chinese spent less on certain unhealthy foods compared to the Malays. Being employed, having tertiary-level education, being married and living with chronic diseases increased spending on unhealthy foods. These findings suggest that the Malaysian government should consider increasing the tax on sugar-sweetened beverages and using health campaigns to educate the urban poor about the risks of unhealthy foods.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Expenditure, poverty, sociodemographic factors, unhealthy foods, urban poor
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management T Technology > TX Home economics
Divisions:	School of Economics, Finance & Banking
Depositing User:	Mrs. Norazmilah Yaakub
Date Deposited:	29 Oct 2026 14:41
Last Modified:	29 Oct 2026 14:41
URI:	https://repo.uum.edu.my/id/eprint/36659

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