News
Time poverty, nutrition crisis: How working hours are reshaping diets of families
In many Ghanaian households today, the workday no longer ends at 5pm. In busy Ghanaian cities such as Accra and Kumasi, parents experience traffic-clogged streets. Traders and market women rise before dawn, health workers are on rotating shifts, and informal-sector workers juggle multiple jobs, thus, long work hours have become the norm rather than the exception. While these extended hours may help to keep some families financially afloat, they are also quietly changing dietary patterns in ways that threaten the health of both parents and their children.
Ghana cannot lecture families into healthy eating while work and commuting steal the time needed to cook, we must treat time poverty as a nutrition risk and design policy around it. A recent study published in the Journal of Development Effectiveness confirms what many Ghanaian parents already feel that when time is scarce, nutrition is the first sacrifice. Also, in the Greater Accra Region, researchers from Feminist Economics have highlighted that long working hours and long commutes are pushing families especially women, away from traditional, nutritious diets toward convenience foods that are cheap, fast, and unhealthy. This shift is contributing to under nutrition in children and the rising rate overweight, obesity, and diet-related chronic diseases among adults and adolescents.
Parents who work long hours have little time available to themselves. Meal planning, food preparation, and shared family meals may be reduced at home due to exhaustion. As a result, households increasingly rely on ultra-processed foods, fried foods, sugary beverages, and refined carbohydrates. These foods are energy-dense but nutrient-poor, lacking essential micronutrients such as iron, zinc, vitamin A, and folic acid, nutrients critical for child growth and cognitive development.
Children are especially vulnerable. When parents are time constrained, children’s diets are shaped by caregivers, older siblings, or their own food choices. Breakfast may be skipped entirely, lunch money may often be spent on pastries, sweetened drinks, instant noodles, or fried snacks sold near schools and dinner, when it happens, may be eaten late at night and consist of leftovers or fast food. Over time, these patterns increase the risk of stunting, micronutrient deficiencies, and obesity.
For parents themselves, the health consequences are equally troubling. Long work hours are associated with irregular eating patterns and heavy reliance on fast foods. Combined with physical inactivity and chronic stress, these dietary habits increase the risk of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases and conditions that are already rising rapidly in Ghana.
Some may argue that the issue is not working hours but personal responsibility. After all, healthy Ghanaian foods such as “kontomire” stew, beans, millet porridge, vegetables, fruits, still exist and are still popular diets. But this argument overlooks structural reality. A parent who spends three hours commuting and ten hours working has limited capacity to shop daily and cook from scratch. In this context, food choices are shaped less by preference and more by time constraints, labour conditions, and urban design.
Others may point out that long working hours are unavoidable in a developing economy, particularly in the informal sector where social protections are weak. That may be true, but accepting long hours as inevitable does not mean ignoring their health consequences. Public health policy must adapt to these realities rather than pretend they do not exist.
So what then must be done? Addressing this issue requires coordinated action across sectors. The Ministry of Health and Ghana Health Service should recognize time poverty as a determinant of diet and promote workplace nutrition standards, including protected meal breaks. Employers, education authorities, and local assemblies must strengthen healthy food environments in workplaces and schools while incentivizing vendors to provide more nutritious options. Transport and urban planning authorities should also reduce commuting time, as time savings can support healthier household dietary practices.
Ghana cannot afford to treat dietary patterns as a purely private matter. When parents’ long work hours distort what families eat, the consequences ripple across generations, affecting child growth, adult productivity, and the future burden on the health system. If we are serious about improving nutrition and health, we must look beyond the plate and confront the working conditions that shape what ends up on it. The health of Ghana’s parents and children depends on it.
By Grace Fia
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Dome Kwabenya Constituency, Elikplim Akurugu, has donated assorted hampers and cash support to mothers at Taifa Polyclinic and Ga East Municipal Hospital as part of activities marking this year’s Mother’s Day celebration.
The donation, which targeted nursing and lactating mothers at the two health facilities, included assorted hampers and an amount of GH¢500 presented to the women in appreciation of their sacrifices, commitment to motherhood and contribution to nurturing children in society.
Interacting with the mothers during the visit, MP Akurugu commended them for their resilience and dedication to their families despite the challenges associated with motherhood.
She encouraged the women to continue showing love, care and discipline in raising their children to become responsible members of society.
The MP also urged expectant and nursing mothers to prioritise regular health checkups and adhere to medical advice to ensure the wellbeing of both mothers and their babies.
According to her, mothers play a vital role in national development and therefore deserve recognition and support for their efforts.
Some of the beneficiaries expressed gratitude to the Member of Parliament for the gesture, describing it as timely and thoughtful as the world celebrates mothers.
Health officials including some of the nurses at the facilities commended the MP for the initiative and called for continuous support towards maternal and child healthcare in the constituency.
During the visit to the Ga East Municipal Hospital, Madam Akurugu appealed to the Minister for Roads and Highways, Kwame Governs Agbodza, and the contractor working on the Ga East Hospital road to expedite work on the stretch due to its deteriorating condition.
According to the MP, the poor state of the road has become a major concern for residents and motorists, contributing to frequent accidents and in some cases loss of lives before patients are even able to access medical treatment at the hospital.
In an emotional appeal, Madam Akurugu knelt and pleaded with the roads minister to treat the road project as an emergency to help protect lives and ease transportation challenges for residents and patients who use the facility.
She called for immediate intervention to ensure the road is completed and made safe for public use.
By: Jacob Aggrey
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Dome Kwabenya Constituency, Elikplim Akurugu, has come to the aid of a constituent identified as Bintu at Dome Pentecost after a severe leg condition nearly claimed her life.
According to the MP, news of Bintu’s deteriorating condition was brought to her attention after reports emerged that one of her legs had badly rotten, leaving her in critical condition and in urgent need of medical care.
Madam Akurugu immediately intervened and facilitated her admission to the Ga East Municipal Hospital where doctors began treatment to save her life.
Following medical examination and treatment, doctors reportedly advised that the affected leg had to be amputated to prevent further complications and save her life, a decision the MP supported after consultations with the medical team.
The surgery was subsequently carried out successfully, leading to an improvement in Bintu’s condition.
Speaking during a visit to Bintu’s residence, Madam Akurugu revealed that beyond paying her hospital bills and ensuring she received proper medical attention, she had also taken steps to improve her living conditions.
According to the MP, Bintu had been living in a deteriorated and partially collapsed structure at Dome, making life extremely difficult and unsafe for her recovery.
As part of the intervention, the MP fully renovated the house and upgraded it to a modern living standard.
The renovation included furnishing the home and providing essential facilities such as a bathroom, toilet and other household necessities to ensure Bintu could live comfortably and with dignity.
Madam Akurugu also donated foodstuff and an undisclosed amount of cash to support Bintu’s upkeep and recovery process.
The MP further pledged to continue supporting Bintu throughout her lifetime, stressing that vulnerable persons within the constituency deserved care, compassion and dignity.
As part of activities marking this year’s Mother’s Day celebration, Madam Akurugu surprised Bintu with the newly renovated home after she was discharged from the hospital, describing the gesture as a way of giving her a fresh start in life following her recovery.
She noted that the intervention formed part of her commitment to improving the welfare of constituents facing hardship and medical challenges.
Residents and some community members who witnessed the gesture commended the MP for the support and described the intervention as life changing for the beneficiary.
By: Jacob Aggrey Dome Kwabenya MP pays hospital bills of constituent on the verge of death; renovates her home to modern standard
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Dome Kwabenya Constituency, Elikplim Akurugu, has come to the aid of a constituent identified as Bintu at Dome Pentecost after a severe leg condition nearly claimed her life.
According to the MP, news of Bintu’s deteriorating condition was brought to her attention after reports emerged that one of her legs had badly rotten, leaving her in critical condition and in urgent need of medical care.
Madam Akurugu immediately intervened and facilitated her admission to the Ga East Municipal Hospital where doctors began treatment to save her life.
Following medical examination and treatment, doctors reportedly advised that the affected leg had to be amputated to prevent further complications and save her life, a decision the MP supported after consultations with the medical team.
The surgery was subsequently carried out successfully, leading to an improvement in Bintu’s condition.
Speaking during a visit to Bintu’s residence, Madam Akurugu revealed that beyond paying her hospital bills and ensuring she received proper medical attention, she had also taken steps to improve her living conditions.
According to the MP, Bintu had been living in a deteriorated and partially collapsed structure at Dome, making life extremely difficult and unsafe for her recovery.
As part of the intervention, the MP fully renovated the house and upgraded it to a modern living standard.
The renovation included furnishing the home and providing essential facilities such as a bathroom, toilet and other household necessities to ensure Bintu could live comfortably and with dignity.
Madam Akurugu also donated foodstuff and an undisclosed amount of cash to support Bintu’s upkeep and recovery process.
The MP further pledged to continue supporting Bintu throughout her lifetime, stressing that vulnerable persons within the constituency deserved care, compassion and dignity.
As part of activities marking this year’s Mother’s Day celebration, Madam Akurugu surprised Bintu with the newly renovated home after she was discharged from the hospital, describing the gesture as a way of giving her a fresh start in life following her recovery.
She noted that the intervention formed part of her commitment to improving the welfare of constituents facing hardship and medical challenges.
Residents and some community members who witnessed the gesture commended the MP for the support and described the intervention as life changing for the beneficiary.
By: Jacob Aggrey
