The public health landscape in South Africa today is characterised by a double-burden of nutritional challenges. Under-nutrition is prevalent, as is evident from the high levels of childhood stunting that are reported. Deficiencies of micro-nutrients such as vitamin A and iron continue to be prevalent in children, females and vulnerable groups. Simultaneously overweight and obesity among adults and children together with an associated increase in the occurrence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease are increasing steadily to epidemic levels. With approximately 40% of the population living under the International Poverty Line and approximately a quarter of the population not able to obtain enough food to fulfil their daily energy needs, poverty and food insecurity are harsh realities in many South African households. The ability of a household to make healthy food choices is, among other factors, affected by food affordability. Food affordability is determined by household income relative to the cost of purchased food items. In recent years, food affordability in South Africa has been under increased pressure due to the following factors: household income-growth barely keeping track with inflation, rising unemployment, as well as high and ever increasing food prices. The pressure on lower income households is particularly profound, forcing such households to use about a third of total expenditure for food purchases. In this study, a multi-disciplinary approach was used (including principles of nutrition, economics and consumer behaviour sciences) to develop models to measure the cost and affordability of healthy eating in South Africa at a national level and on a socio-economically disaggregated basis. The healthy food basket model was primarily based on the South African Food-based Dietary Guidelines, typical food consumption patterns, household demographics and official urban retail food prices monitored by Statistics South Africa. Food affordability is a major challenge, with 60% of the population unable to afford the Moderate-cost Food Basket which provides greater nutritional diversity. The more economical Thrifty Healthy Food Basket (approximately 30% less expensive) is only affordable to approximately half of the South African population. A four member household earning two minimum wages has to spend a third of total expenditure on food to be able to afford this basket, while the typical food expenditure share of such households is usually lower (approximately 24%), thus confirming the pressure on households to afford healthy eating. In future the models of healthy eating also present possibilities for further expansion (e.g. these models can be refined to study different geographical areas or different household structure typologies). Compared to national nutritional recommendations, the study found that the intakes of whole-grain starch-rich foods, lean meat, fish, eggs, dairy, fruit, vegetables and legumes were low. Inadequate intake was generally more severe among lower income households. Less-affluent households spend a large proportion of their food budget on starch-rich staples, fats / oils and sugar-rich foods, but allocate insufficient resources to animal-source foods, legumes, fruit and vegetables. This study also identified that excessive intakes of refined and processed starch-rich food options, sugar-rich foods and fats / oils were common across all income groups and increased with socio-economic status. These findings confirm the reality of the nutrition transition in South Africa. The contribution of this research to estimate the socio-economically disaggregated consumption of animal-source foods (meat, fish and eggs) and starch-rich foods (maize meal, bread, rice and potatoes), provides valuable insights into differences in food intake across the socio-economic spectrum of South Africa. A complex combination of interventions is required to promote healthy eating patterns in South Africa. In addition to legislative measures (e.g. salt and sugar reduction legislation), consumer education (across the socio-economic spectrum) should focus on science-based practical solutions and provide advice on making healthy and budget-conscious food choices. In addition, it is also important to design and implement policy actions to improve the affordability and availability of healthy food options for the various socio-economic groups, in diverse geographic locations in South Africa. The improvement of food affordability is a key component in moving closer to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal of the United Nations “to end hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture”. Furthermore, improving household food and nutrition security (including addressing issues pertaining to healthy food consumption and affordability), through public and private sector actions, is one of the enabling milestones in the National Development Plan 2030. The monthly costing of the food basket models which were developed in this study and analyses thereof should be used as policy analysis tools to act as a practical, scientific basis for the food security debate in South Africa. These tools are, in fact, already published on a quarterly basis in the public domain. In future the models of healthy eating also present possibilities for further expansion (e.g. these models can be refined to study different geographical areas or different household structure typologies). / Thesis (PhD) - University of Pretoria. 2020. / Financial support received from: * The Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP) * The Department of Science and Technology (DST)/National Research Foundation (NRF) Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Food Security * Agbiz * Red Meat Research and Development South Africa (RMRD SA) * DST/NRF South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChl) in the National Development Plan Priority Area of Nutrition and Food Security (Unique number: SARCI170808259212) * University of Pretoria / Animal and Wildlife Sciences / PhD Nutrition / Unrestricted

University students have low levels of fruit and vegetable consumption (FVC). There is a paucity of research about changing FVC in this population, including the specific use of environmental cues to influence behaviour change. The purpose of this research was to investigate the effect of a cue (a modified plate design and/or plate size) on FVC while exploring explicit cognitions and attitudes in first year undergraduates. Methods: This study utilized an experimental pre-post randomized control group design across six weeks, with two recruitment waves. First year full-time University students living off campus and consuming less than six servings of fruits and vegetables were eligible. Participants (n=39) were randomly assigned to intervention with an 8-inch dinner plate displaying recommended portion sizes, with an 8-inch dinner plate with no design, or a control group. All participants completed a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), 24-hour food recall (24Hr), demographics, anthropometry and intentions toward FVC, with intervention groups receiving a lesson on Canada’s Food Guide in addition to their plate. Results: Eight out of twelve outcome measures had meaningful time by group effect sizes (ɳ2>0.06). For fruit frequency (per day), the effect was statistically significant (p=0.03). Adherence to plate use varied (design plate: 0.69±2.38 to 4.23±5.55 times per week; plain plate 3.39±7.31 to 12.80±7.89 times per week) but was low in the designed plate condition (average 4 use: 2.46±3.88 times per week). Baseline intention, affective and instrumental attitudes, perceived behavioural control, subjective norms and automaticity did not predict FVC. Conclusion: An environmental cue in the form of a modified dinner plate may significantly influence fruit and vegetable consumption in young adults. Change occurred despite low plate use, which appears to indicate that the role of the plate was more explicit; participants may have become more consciously aware of portion size because of the plate cue. It also appeared, based on effect sizes, that affective attitudes, subjective norms and automaticity may have been influenced. This pilot study established the effect sizes needed to power a larger randomized controlled trial and fully test the impact of the environmental cue. / Graduate / 0573 / 0570 / 0680 / hmrose@uvic.ca

Licentiatavhandling (sammanfattning) Alnarp : Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

When the Riksbank took the historic decision to cut the repo rate below zero, forecast at the same time was that it would be back on positive ground by the end of 2016. Now that the repo rate is adjusted down further Riksbank predicts that interest rates will remain negative until at least the turn of the year 2017-2018. The phenomenon of "negative interest rate" has thus become more than just the short paranthesis as it was initially meant to be. The purpose of this paper is therefore to examine how the low interest rates in general, and the negative interest rate in particular, affects the real estate market and its participants. Furthermore, it is investigated whether some participants relate to the negative interest rate differently than others, and if their expectations of the interest rate and the market's future development are different. The negative interest rate is a highly topical and new phenomenon and this kind of study has not been done before. The work is mainly built on qualitative interviews founded on a phenomenographical research approach, which aims to, based on an expert but heterogeneous respondent group, try to draw general conclusions on the basis of the answers received. Representatives from real estate funds, listed real estate companies, institutional real estate company, KTH, a real estate consultant and a bank were interviewed, in order to highlight the phenomenon from as many perspectives as possible. Quantitative surveys are also used to enhance reliability of the essay and its internal validity. The obtained empirical data shows that the only direct effect that the negative interest rates has is that the companies using leverage get a "mismatch" when they tie their interest rates with interest rate swaps- This is due to the STIBOR-floor that banks have put in place, which basically means they get higher interest costs, the more negative the interest rate is. Further, listed property companies are considered to be the investor category that has benefited most from low interest rate environment, this because of their relatively high leverage ratios, but also as they have effectively been able to use the capital market as an alternative source of funding. The low interest rates have meant that property values have risen rapidly, but all increases are not considered as justified. As for the respondents’ approach towards the market, it can be stated that the listed real estate companies have begun to position themselves for a possible touchdown on the market while the unleveraged institutional investors, continued to seek higher real estate exposure. In terms of the respondents’ future expectation about interest rate developments, it is clear from the response that the majority expect that low interest rates may be for a while but should then return to more normal levels, while the other two believed that the low interest rates instead may become the new normal. / När Riksbanken tog det historiska beslutet att sänka reporäntan under nollstrecket prognostiserades samtidigt att densamma skulle vara tillbaka på positiv mark redan i slutet av 2016. När nu reporäntan justerats ner ytterligare spår Riksbanken att räntan kommer att vara fortsatt negativ minst fram till årsskiftet 2017-2018. Fenomenet "minusränta" har således blivit mer än bara den korta parentes som det initialt var tänkt att vara. Uppsatsens syfte är följaktligen att undersöka på vilket sätt de låga räntorna i allmänhet, och den negativa räntan i synnerhet, inverkar på fastighetsmarknaden och dess aktörer. Vidare utreds huruvida vissa aktörer upplever/förhåller sig till den negativa räntan på annorlunda sätt än andra, samt ifall deras förväntingar om räntans och marknadens framtida utveckling skiljer sig åt. Minusräntan är ett högst aktuellt och nytt fenomen och denna typ av studie som belyser dess konsekvenser på fastighetsmarknaden har inte gjorts tidigare. Arbetet bygger främst på kvalitativa intervjuer baserade på en fenomenografisk forskningsansats, vilken syftar till att, utifrån en sakkunnig men heterogen respondentgrupp, försöka dra generella slutsatser med utgångspunkt i de mottagna svaren. Representanter från fastighetsfonder, börsnoterade fastighetsbolag, institutionellt ägda fastighetsföretag, KTH, en fastighetskonsult och en bank intervjuades för att belysa fenomenet ur så många perspektiv som möjligt. Kvantitativa enkäter används vidare för att stärka uppsatsens reliabilitet och dess inre validitet. Den erhållna empirin visar att den enda direkta effekten som just minusräntan har är att de belånade fastighetsaktörerna får en "missmatch" när de binder sina räntor med ränteswappar. Detta på grund av det STIBOR-golv som bankerna har infört, vilket i princip innebär att de får högre räntekostnader ju mer negativ räntan är. Vidare anses börsnoterade fastighetsbolag vara den investerarkategori som har gynnats mest av lågräntemiljön, detta delvis tack vare deras relativt höga belåningsgrader, men även då de effektivt har kunnat utnyttja kapitalmarknaden som alternativ finansieringskälla. De låga räntorna har inneburit att fastighetsvärdena snabbt har stigit, men alla höjningar anses inte vara lika befogade. Vad gäller aktörernas ställningstagande gentemot marknaden kan det fastläggas att de börsnoterade fastighetsbolagen har börjat positionera sig inför en eventuell sättning på marknaden medan de obelånade institutionella investerarna å sin sida fortsatt söker ökad fastighetsexponering. I fråga om respondenternas framtida förväntingar om räntans utveckling framgår av gensvaret att majoriteten förväntar sig att de låga räntorna kan bestå ett tag till för att sedan återgå till mer historiskt normala nivåer, medan de övriga två tror att de låga räntorna istället kan komma att bli det nya normala.

The impact of unsustainable human actions has grown to become the most significant underlying factor of current environmental problems, which stresses the need for a large-scale transformative change in our modern ways of living. Sustainable development has emerged to become the primary framework to reduce climate impact, and sustainable neighbourhoods have become a highly sought out and desirable policy goal. However, there exists a concern that contemporary spatial planning policies and strategies appear to be inadequate to achieve the transformative lifestyle change needed due to their primary adoption of an ecological modernisation agenda. With this notion and by examining the ongoing urban development project Täby Park in Täby municipality is the aim of this thesis to investigate to what extent and how a more environmentally sustainable way of living can be met through (supporting) contemporary spatial planning and design policies, strategies, and its physical manifestation in the built environment. For this has a theoretical framework rooted in social and behavioural science been adopted to understand the relationship between sustainable lifestyles and influencing factors. The empirical material is based on conducted interviews with residents, public and private actors, a questionnaire, and a site visit.  The findings of this study show that the development of Täby Park is primarily rooted in an approach of behavioural-economics, which in large has translated to an ecological modernisation agenda. Overall, it can be concluded that a more environmentally sustainable way of living can to a certain extent be met through the applied policies and strategies in Täby Park. Although the residents perceive that factors rooted in rational reasoning hold the most significant impact on their adoption of more environmentally sustainable actions in their everyday life, do the findings illustrate that the residents generally deviate from rational reasoning of decision-making. This illustrates that the desired sustainability vision cannot be modelled after generic assumptions of behavioural-economics.