Optimal Control of an SIR-Inspired Malnutrition Model: Subconscious and Societal

Abstract

This research project uses differential equations based on an epidemiology ("SIR") model to study how malnutrition is comparable to an infectious disease, considering factors such as poverty and social and economic culture around processed foods. My analysis considers an “infected” population of malnourished people as a group of people who choose processed junk foods out of convenience or preference, but are not completely aware of their choice’s severe impacts. This is a scientific investigation into how social conventions around food culture slowly work their way into everyday food choices. I am analyzing how education, different lifestyles, and conversations around food in the home impact the spread of “casual” and “normalized malnutrition” throughout the working middle class in the U.S. To scientifically model this, I consider an optimal control analysis to specifically analyze parental influence on food choices.