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PHOTO ESSAY
NEW OBSESSION; JUNK ADDICTION
Part-B
Objective - To understand the junk eating habits of children
residing in urban poor slums of Bengaluru
What is Junk food?
Junk foods are high in calories but low in nutritional value. In
general, these foods include processed and prepared snack
foods with long, often unpronounceable ingredient lists.
Location chosen - Maya Bazaar
Maya Bazaar is an urban poor locality situated nearer to
Neelasandra in Bangalore, having 600 households with a dense
population of around 3500 residing on 6 acres of land.
Methodology - Photo Essay
A photo essay is a collection of images that may or may not
include captions, explanations, or both. Typically, photo essays
show something that is easier to understand through an image,
frequently by provoking an emotional response but also
frequently through illustrating. A photo essay organises a
selection of photos either thematically or in a precise order to
demonstrate the evolution of events, feelings, and concepts.
Photographers and photojournalists reflect lived experiences in
their photo essays in an intuitive way, while social scientists
explicitly explore and describe lived experiences in their photo
essays.
Source: Indian Council of Medical Research
If the recommended calorie intake is
exceeded
Any excess calories you eat will be stored as
fat, and consistently eating more than you
burn will cause weight gain over time
Some children may develop health problems
such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure
and high cholesterol, risk factors for heart
disease. Some children also may experience
teasing, bullying, depression link, or low selfesteem.
WHICH FURTHER AFFECTS THE CHILD
Physically
Mentally
Socially
Amayra, dressed in a pink sweater, is a mother to a 3-year-old boy. Her household includes her husband, father,
mother, and little child. When questioned if the kid ate junk food, she grinned widely and nodded as if it was a very
apparent fact. She revealed that her husband is a cook and that her father helps out at a tailor's shop. The family
makes about 20k each month. When asked how much they spend each day on junk, she replied that they spend
close to 100 rupees since the youngster doesn't go to school if he doesn't have blue lays to accompany his lunch
box. On being asked why do you provide him with junk don't you know it's harmful to him? They said, He's small now
and when he starts crying we are unable to say no to him. A family of five living in a rented house, household
expenses, school expenses, medical expenses and among other significant expenses why is JUNK given
precedence?
A picture from Amayra's Kitchen.
Venila is the mother of three children. Her Children are aged 8, 6 and 4 and two of them are addicted to junk food.
She told us how often they make noodles at home and how she has to get some or the other snacks to pack along
with the lunch boxes otherwise they deny to take the box along with them. Her husband is the only earning member
of the family and earns around 10k per month. On being asked the amount spent on junk on a daily basis she said it
would be around 20-30 rupees and that she stocks snacks so that she doesn't have to run around all the time. Out
of all the people that I talked to she was the only one who took great care of her children's nutrition. She included
soaked badams and ghee in their everyday diet. She also made sure they didn't consume much of the packaged
snacks like lays, bingo, kurkure, etc rather got them snacks like murukku, cookies which are comparatively much
better than the ones that the community kids usually have.
The evening munchies she kept on hand for her kids to enjoy when
they got home from school.
Badams are soaked in water at night and given to the kids before
they leave for school.
Jayan is the father of two children and the one he is holding in the picture is his beloved daughter aged 3. Devaraj's wife works as a
nurse and he takes care of the house and the children. The elder son aged 6 is a fan of junk food says Devaraj. The shop is right in
front of their house(painted blue) which makes it very accessible for the kids to purchase their favourite packet of chips, drinks,
and chocolates at any time of the day. The money is handed over to the kids but the father accompanies them each time. Devaraj
said that around 50 rupees are spent on a daily basis to satisfy the junk munching habit of the kids. He also said that youtube and
television advertisements makes the child crave new eatables.
Aromal, A naughty 5-year-old who I frequently meet during my Maya Bazaar field visits. Talked to his mother who told has that he
doesn't have much junk but also tells us that he refuses to have anything other than biscuits and tea for breakfast. On being
asked, he was really excited to name all his favourite snacks and how he gets 20 rupees per day after getting back from school.
The mother told that he really liked packaged juices and added that they provided him with juices over sodas as the latter is not at
all healthy for the child.
I also stopped by the community Anganwadi of the Institute of Health Management Research during my fieldwork for the project.
The kids are served a nutritious lunch and snacks here, so I was surprised to discover that the parents were still giving the kids
food. When questioned if they feed those to the kids, the carer replied that when they get too hard to handle, we just give it to
them.
LEARNING AND
REFLECTIONS
From the
FIELD VISITS
You find children in uniforms roaming around with coins and notes.
This is a daily routine to avoid the kid being cranky after school
You can see the scattered bottles of aerated beverages and fruit
juices as well as the chocolate, biscuit, tetra pack, and chip
wrappers. They commonly occur in the little drains. They frequently
cause the drains to become clogged as well. It isn't just causing a
menace to the surrounding but it is also putting a hole in the pockets
of the low income families who are managing to afford these snacks
for their children.
Everyone in the community included white rice in their daily diet. They
made sure that the child's diet included rice. Idly, Dosa, Fried rice
were some of the common answers we received other than the
normal rice and curry.
Chips and candies from local brands are widely available in
community shops. They are cheap and come in attractive coloured
packets.
A kid accompanying his mother to the nearby shop. The mother is
seen to be buying some essentials for the household but before
leaving she makes sure she gets the child a lollipop.
A mother and a daughter spotted at a community shop.
A mother and a daughter were spotted at an awareness session
exchanging money for the child to buy a packet of chips.
A picture clicked during the awareness session where the ladies
were busy hearing the session and the kids were busy munching on
their snacks.
During one of our awareness sessions, a participant's child came and
sat through the entire session, busily eating his snacks wrapped in
paper.
A lot of parents in the community complained of their kids being
influenced by TV and youtube advertisements and tend to demand
them to buy those products. Studies have shown that after just one
exposure to a commercial, children can recall the ad's content and
have a desire for the product. Lack of adult reasoning is a concern
because young children tend to accept ads as fair, accurate,
balanced and truthful
Common Packaged Drinks consumed by the
community children and their nutritional value
Frooti - Rs. 10
A 10 rupee tetra pack of frooti contains 160 ml
Real Fruit Juice - Rs. 20
A 20 rupee tetra pack of Real Juice
contains 180 ml
Amul Badam Milk - Rs. 20
A 20 rupee bottle contains 180 ml
Common Packaged Snacks consumed by the
community children and their nutritional value
Marie Light
Biscuit - Rs. 10
A 10 rupee pack contains approx 70g
Good
Day
Biscuit
- Rs. 10
A 10 rupee pack contains approx 58g
Lays
A 10 rupee pack contains approx
27 g and 20 rupee pack contains
approx 52 g
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