Similar to other previous findings, healthy eating barriers
perceived to be important were associated with time factor
due to irregular working hours and busy lifestyle [9], [13],
[15], [16]. As one of the most developed countries in
south-east Asia, Malaysia is following the similar trend. The
economic growth has led to major shifts in lifestyle changes,
including demand across different types of food. As a result,
traditional diets which were rich in grains, vegetables and
plant-based were substituted to meals high in fat, sugar and
animal-based. In addition, dual-earner families are on the rise
in the country. Working women are struggling to balance
time between families and works. Due to stressing time
constraints, modern families might substitute time-saving
options such as eating out and prepare instant or convenience
food for their own time with family. Due to this, the
populations are relying more on the food away from home as
well as processed and convenient foods to cater their
nutritional needs. This implied the needs of regulating the
food industry to supply not only convenient and nutritious
foods, but also tasty options in order to encourage people to
improve on their diets. As indicated by [32], people should
get the important message that eating healthily doesn‟t mean
that they have to compromise on time and taste factors, and
similar message should be applied to the Malaysians
accordingly.