What dietary explanation links poverty to children's nutrition in the material?

• A. Fresh fruit is cheaper than sugary foods, leading poor families to buy sugary snacks
• B. Sugary snacks are cheaper than fresh fruit
• C. There are no price differences between fruit and snacks
• D. Fruit subsidies eliminate cost barriers

Answer: (A)

Poverty shapes children's nutrition through the price and accessibility of food. When cheaper options dominate the market for low-income families, the food choices available—and what families actually buy—tend to favor affordable, energy-dense items over pricier, nutrient-rich options like fresh fruit. The material uses the idea that fresh fruit is cheaper than sugary foods to illustrate how cost differences influence what poor families select, which in turn affects the nutritional quality of what children consume. Other choices either deny any price difference or suggest subsidies that remove cost barriers, which don’t align with the described mechanism of how cost shapes dietary choices in a constrained budget.