If you want to follow a healthy diet in the USA it will cost you more money, researchers revealed in the journal Health Affairs. According to their analysis, those wishing to follow the federal Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010 – which means consuming more potassium, vitamin, calcium and dietary fiber – most will have more expensive grocery bills. For people on limited budgets, this is going to be very difficult, if not impossible, many believe.
The researchers gathered data on over 1,000 adults in King County, Washington, to work out how much it would cost to make up for their dietary shortfall in order to meet federal dietary requirements. If the average American consumer upped their potassium intake to federal guideline levels, they would have to spend an extra $380 per year – and that is just for potassium.
Co-author Pablo Monsivais, acting assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology and the Center for Public Health Nutrition, School of Public Health, at the University of Washington, in Seattle, says that especially during lean times, many Americans will find it hard to meet healthy diet recommendations. He believes the government should do more to help.
Monsivais said:
“Given the times we’re in, I think we really need to make our health guidance, in particular the dietary guidelines, more relevant to Americans.”
The authors also found that for each 1% increase in daily calories from saturated fat and added sugar, an average family’s food monthly food bill declined significantly.
An extra 35 cents a day would have to be spent on dietary fiber and vitamin D by the average family in order to get their dietary intake to meet national guidelines, the authors found. Calcium would not add much to their bill, they added; most people are getting enough or very near enough calcium.
They found that those who already spent the most on food came closest to the overall recommended daily values.
Some people say that subsidies on agricultural products should be revised, so that the focus is on healthy foods. They say that if federal money is already being spent, perhaps it is just a question of targeting it better.
The authors concluded:
“These findings suggest that improving the American diet will require additional guidance for consumers, especially those with little budget flexibility, and new policies to increase the availability and reduce the cost of healthful foods.”
Written by Christian Nordqvist