ArticleThe Journal of nutrition2019
The Relative Caloric Prices of Healthy and Unhealthy Foods Differ Systematically across Income Levels and Continents.
Article in The Journal of nutrition, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 133 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
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Who cites it
133 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 349 citations in OpenAlex.
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- Characteristics that modify the effect of small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplementation on child growth: an individual participant data meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2021Pooled it
- Factors influencing obesogenic behaviours of adolescent girls and women in low- and middle-income countries: A qualitative evidence synthesis.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2021Pooled it
- Zinc supplementation combined with antidepressant drugs for treatment of patients with depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Nutrition reviews · 2021Pooled it
- Impacts of an egg complementary feeding trial on energy intake and dietary diversity in Malawi.Maternal & child nutrition · 2021Trial
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- Dairy Product Consumption Patterns and Associated Sociodemographic and Lifestyle Factors Among Adults from Selected Peruvian Cities.Nutrients · 2026Article
- Mapping the Healthiness of Campus Food Environments in Nigeria: In-Store Retail and Outdoor Advertising Assessments at Selected Universities-The NigeFE Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- Retrofitting fiscal policies to reduce the double burden of malnutrition in Peru: A system dynamics modelling study.PLoS medicine · 2026Article
- Food Insecurity and Diet Quality Among Low-Income Women in Dhaka City Amidst COVID-19 and the Ukraine Crisis: A Cross-Sectional Study.Health science reports · 2026Article
- Young adults' perceptions of food classification criteria and barriers to healthy eating: a qualitative inquiry from eight Indian metropolises.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Acceptable diet and dietary diversity across countries in infants aged 6-23 months: a multi-country big data analysis from 1999 to 2021.Journal of health, population, and nutrition · 2026Article
- Current Evidence on Dietary Patterns and Consumer Food Choices in the Context of Climate and Environmental Change: A Global Perspective-A Report from the Agriculture and Diet: Value Added for Nutrition, Translation, and Adaptation in a Global Ecology (ADVANTAGE) Project Working Group 2.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2026Review
- Consumption of four unhealthy commodities and exposure to advertising, sponsorship, and promotion in Bamako, Mali.Health promotion international · 2026Article
- Assessing food insecurity severity and lived experiences among Sub-Saharan African migrants in Turkey: evidence from a rasch-based mixed-methods study.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Supply and advertising of food and beverages with front-of-package warning labeling in schools of Metropolitan Lima 2023.Revista peruana de medicina experimental y salud publica · 2026Article
- Socio-demographic and economic factors associated with unhealthy food consumption among women of reproductive age in Tanzania: a nationwide cross-sectional study.Journal of health, population, and nutrition · 2026Article
- Global burden of dietary-related mortality in working-age population, 1990-2021: trends and disparities across 204 countries and territories.European journal of nutrition · 2026Article
- Obese mother, obese child: A convergent mixed methods study of intergenerational obesity in low-income households in Malaysia.PloS one · 2026Article
73 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundRelative prices of healthy/unhealthy foods have been implicated in the obesity epidemic, but never extensively quantified across countries or empirically linked to undernutrition.
objectivesThis study compared relative caloric prices (RCPs) for different food categories across 176 countries and ascertained their associations with dietary indicators and nutrition outcomes.
methodsWe converted prices for 657 standardized food products from the 2011 International Comparison Program into caloric prices using USDA Food Composition tables. We classified products into 21 specific food groups. We constructed RCPs as the ratio of the 3 cheapest products in each food group, relative to the weighted cost of a basket of starchy staples. We analyzed RCP differences across World Bank income levels and regions and used cross-country regressions to explore associations with Demographic Health Survey dietary indicators for women 15-49 y old and children 12-23 mo old and with WHO indicators of the under-5 stunting prevalence and adult overweight prevalence.
resultsMost noncereal foods were relatively cheap in high-income countries, including sugar- and fat-rich foods. In lower-income countries, healthy foods were generally expensive, especially most animal-sourced foods and fortified infant cereals (FICs). Higher RCPs for a food predict lower consumption among children for 7 of 9 food groups. Higher milk and FIC prices were positively associated with international child stunting patterns: a 1-SD increase in milk prices was associated with a 2.8 percentage point increase in the stunting prevalence. Similarly, a 1-SD increase in soft drink prices was associated with a reduction in the overweight prevalence of ∼3.6 percentage points.
conclusionsRelative food prices vary systematically across countries and partially explain international differences in the prevalences of undernutrition and overweight adults. Future research should focus on how to alter relative prices to achieve better dietary and nutrition outcomes.
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