Are Healthy Foods Really More Expensive? It Depends on How You Measure the Price

Carlson, Andrea; Frazão, Elizabeth

doi:10.2139/ssrn.2199553

Cited by 80 publications

(73 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…In particular, the ERS found no evidence that cheaper energy-dense foods were preferentially selected by lower-income groups largely because of their low cost (14). In that view, many lower-SES Americans simply chose to eat badly (11,15,16).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Carbohydrate-Fat Problem: Can We Construct a Healthy Diet Based on Dietary Guidelines?

Drewnowski

2015

Advances in Nutrition

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The inclusion of nutrition economics in dietary guidance would help ensure that the Dietary Guidelines for Americans benefit equally all segments of the US population. The present review outlines some novel metrics of food affordability that assess nutrient density of foods and beverages in relation to cost. Socioeconomic disparities in diet quality in the United States are readily apparent. In general, groups of lower socioeconomic status consume cheaper, lower-quality diets and suffer from higher rates of noncommunicable diseases. Nutrient profiling models, initially developed to assess the nutrient density of foods, can be turned into econometric models that assess both calories and nutrients per reference amount and per unit cost. These novel metrics have been used to identify individual foods that were affordable, palatable, culturally acceptable, and nutrient rich. Not all nutrient-rich foods were expensive. In dietary surveys, both local and national, some high-quality diets were associated with relatively low cost. Those population subgroups that successfully adopted dietary guidelines at an unexpectedly low monetary cost were identified as "positive deviants." Constructing a healthy diet based on dietary guidelines can be done, provided that nutrient density of foods, their affordability, as well as taste and social norms are all taken into account.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Carbohydrate-Fat Problem: Can We Construct a Healthy Diet Based on Dietary Guidelines?

Drewnowski

2015

Advances in Nutrition

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“…The approach taken in this study escapes the criticism where the selected unit of comparison can alter the results (13). For example, healthy options of fat and dairy products cost less per serving but more per Kcal (4).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Healthy Eating in Jamaica: The Cost Factor

Caines

Eyre

2015

West Indian Med J

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“…Daily requirements of essential amino acids were calculated on the basis of a mean protein intake of 0·66 g protein/kg body weight per d for adult males and females (24,25) . Definitions of 'healthy food' vary depending on the source and context, but in a general way healthy foods provide essential nutrients, support health and contain only moderate amounts of saturated fats, free sugars and Na (26) . Thus, as a global nutritional assessment, MAR was reduced by its counterpart mean excess ratio (MER), which was calculated for fats, free sugars and Na, as follows (18) :…”

Section: Nutritional Evaluationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nutrieconomic model can facilitate healthy and low-cost food choices

Primavesi¹,

Caccavelli²,

Ciliberto³

et al. 2014

Public Health Nutr.

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Objective: Promotion of healthy eating can no longer be postponed as a priority, given the alarming growth rate of chronic degenerative diseases in Western countries. We elaborated a nutrieconomic model to assess and identify the most nutritious and affordable food choices. Design: Seventy-one food items representing the main food categories were included and their nationally representative prices monitored. Food composition was determined using CRA-NUT (Centro di Ricerca per gli Alimenti e la Nutrizione) and IEO (Istituto Europeo di Oncologia) databases. To define food nutritional quality, the mean adequacy ratio and mean excess ratio were combined. Both prices and nutritional quality were normalised for the edible food content and for the recommended serving sizes for the Italian adult population. Setting: Stores located in different provinces throughout Italy. Subjects: Not applicable. Results: Cereals and legumes presented very similar nutritional qualities and prices per serving. Seasonal fruits and vegetables presented differentiated nutritional qualities and almost equal prices. Products of animal origin showed similar nutritional qualities and varied prices: the best nutrieconomic choices were milk, oily fish and poultry for the dairy products, fish and meat groups, respectively. Conclusions: Analysing two balanced weekly menus, our nutrieconomic model was able to note a significant decrease in cost of approximately 30 % by varying animal-protein sources without affecting nutritional quality. Healthy eating does not necessarily imply spending large amounts of money but rather being able to make nutritionally optimal choices. The nutrieconomic model is an innovative and practical way to help consumers make correct food choices and nutritionists increase the compliance of their patients. Keywords Diet cost Food analysis Nutrient profiling Nutrieconomic analysisAdoption and promotion of a healthy diet is a priority for reducing chronic diseases including obesity, diabetes, CVD and several cancers. For example, the broad scientific literature demonstrates that greater adherence to a healthy diet, like the Mediterranean diet, is associated with a significant reduction in overall mortality (9 %), mortality from CVD (9 %), incidence of or mortality from cancer (6 %) and incidence of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease (13 %) (1) . These data are of major interest. To cite an instance, in the last two decades obesity has more than tripled in Europe, causing more than 1 million deaths and 12 million life-years of illness each year. Moreover, obesity is associated with increased medical costs, premature death, less healthy lifestyle choices, psychological problems and poor quality of life (2) . Many governments have taken this problem to heart and developed strategies (i.e. websites improving consumer nutrition knowledge) that can promote food choices that are not only healthy but also economical. Perhaps the most well-known example of these efforts is represented by the US Department of Agriculture's nutr...

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Are Healthy Foods Really More Expensive? It Depends on How You Measure the Price

Cited by 80 publications

References 27 publications

The Carbohydrate-Fat Problem: Can We Construct a Healthy Diet Based on Dietary Guidelines?

The Carbohydrate-Fat Problem: Can We Construct a Healthy Diet Based on Dietary Guidelines?

Healthy Eating in Jamaica: The Cost Factor

Nutrieconomic model can facilitate healthy and low-cost food choices

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