ARS | Publication request: The Cost of a Healthful Diet

Submitted to: Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Conference
Publication Type: Abstract
Publication Acceptance Date: January 1, 2006
Publication Date: April 3, 2006
Citation: Kennedy, E., Racsa, P., Wilde, P., Dallal, G., Jacques, P., Lichtenstein, A.H., Goldberg, J., Hyatt Jr, R.R. 2006. The Cost of a Healthful Diet. Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Conference. San Francisco, CA: April 105, 2006. Abstract no. 401.5.

Technical Abstract: The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and MyPyramid recommend nutrient density as an approach for consumers to achieve nutrient adequacy while avoiding over-consumption of energy. However, from a public health perspective nutrient density is a difficult concept to communicate to the general public. This is particularly true when applying nutrient density to purchase decisions. Three models to calculate Food Quality Scores (FQS), measures of nutrient densities for individual foods, were developed. Added to these models were factors to calculate cost per nutrient. The FQS¿s were applied to the USDA database and a commercial database of consumer buying patterns from food purchases of 30 millions customers. The FQS¿s for each food item were robust across the three algorithms and categorization of items into good, better, best, was similar among the models. However, based on these FQS¿s, there were substantial differences in FQS per dollar spent. In some categories differences in nutrient density per dollar spent were dramatic, reinforcing the fact that healthful eating may cost more.