A new study compares healthy and unhealthy diets with surprising results
New research from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) based on the most comprehensive examination to date comparing prices of healthy foods and diet patterns vs. less healthy ones pinpoints the price difference of consuming a healthy diet at $1.50/day.
That’s a mere $45/month, likely less than the internet bill you’re paying in order to be able to read this. It is particularly trivial compared to the health costs of eating an unhealthy diet.
The researchers considered healthier diet patterns to be those diets rich in fruits, vegetables, fish, and nuts and unhealthy diets to include those rich in processed foods, meats, and refined grains. [ed note: we do not necessarily agree with these classifications] “People often say that healthier foods are more expensive, and that such costs strongly limit better diet habits,” says lead author Mayuree Rao.
Dariush Mozaffarian, the study’s senior author agrees: “While healthier diets did cost more, the difference was smaller than many people might have expected. Over the course of a year, $1.50/day more for eating a healthy diet would increase food costs for one person by about $550 per year.”
What To Do
The researchers suggest that unhealthy diets may cost less because food policies have focused on the production of “inexpensive, high volume” commodities, which has led to “a complex network of farming, storage, transportation, processing, manufacturing, and marketing capabilities that favor sales of highly processed food products for maximal industry profit.” Given this reality, they argue that creating a similar infrastructure to support production of healthier foods might help increase availability—and reduce the prices—of more healthful diets.
As anyone who shops at a Farmer’s Market can attest, it can seem like prices are a little higher with lower profit margins. But until we can make systemic changes, you can control the choices you make for your own diet. Try shopping a local grocery or market on your next trip, you might be surprised!
The research is published in “Do Healthier Foods and Diet Patterns Cost More Than Less Healthy Options? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis,” Mayuree Rao, Ashkan Afshin, Gitanjali Singh, Dariush Mozaffarian, BMJ Open, December 5, 2013.