ArticleBMC public health2021
Measuring cost and affordability of current vs. healthy diets in Argentina: an application of linear programming and the INFORMAS protocol.
Article in BMC public health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 13 citations in OpenAlex.
- Cost and affordability implications of transitioning from current diets to National dietary guidelines and EAT-Lancet recommendations in Argentina: a modelling study.Nutrition journal · 2025Article
- EAT-Nutrients · 2025Article
- Cost and affordability of three levels of diet quality for urban households in Colombia.Public health nutrition · 2025Article
- Differences in the cost and environmental impact between the current diet in Brazil and healthy and sustainable diets: a modeling study.Nutrition journal · 2024Article
- Article
- Association between total available nutritional quality and food expenditure in Peruvian households, 2019-2020.Cadernos de saude publica · 2023Article
- The Forgotten Age Phase of Healthy Lifestyle Promotion? A Preliminary Study to Examine the Potential Call for Targeted Physical Activity and Nutrition Education for Older Adolescents.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundFood cost and affordability is one of the main barriers to improve the nutritional quality of diets of the population. However, in Argentina, where over 60% of adults and 40% of children and adolescents are overweight or obese, little is known about the difference in cost and affordability of healthier diets compared to ordinary, less healthy ones.
methodsWe implemented the "optimal approach" proposed by the International Network for Food and Obesity/non-communicable diseases Research, Monitoring and Action Support (INFORMAS). We modelled the current diet and two types of healthy diets, one equal in energy with the current diet and one 6.3% lower in energy by linear programming. Cost estimations were performed by collecting food product prices and running a Monte Carlo simulation (10,000 iterations) to obtain a range of costs for each model diet. Affordability was measured as the percentage contribution of diet cost vs. average household income in average, poor and extremely poor households and by income deciles.
resultsOn average, households must spend 32% more money on food to ensure equal energy intake from a healthy diet than from a current model diet. When the energy intake target was reduced by 6.3%, the difference in cost was 22%. There are no reasonably likely situations in which any of these healthy diets could cost less or the same than the current unhealthier one. Over 50% of households would be unable to afford the modelled healthy diets, while 40% could not afford the current diet.
conclusionsDifferential cost and affordability of healthy vs. unhealthy diets are germane to the design of effective public policies to reduce obesity and NCDs in Argentina. It is necessary to implement urgent measures to transform the obesogenic environment, making healthier products more affordable, available and desirable, and discouraging consumption of nutrient-poor, energy-rich foods.
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