Estimating the cost and affordability of healthy diets: How much do methods matter?

Loading...
Thumbnail Image

Date Issued

Date Online

2024-06-11

Language

en

Review Status

Peer Review

Access Rights

Open Access Open Access

Usage Rights

CC-BY-4.0

Share

Citation

Headey, Derek D.; Hirvonen, Kalle; and Alderman, Harold. 2024. Estimating the cost and affordability of healthy diets: How much do methods matter? Food Policy 126(July 2024): 102654. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2024.102654

Permanent link to cite or share this item

External link to download this item

Abstract/Description

Recently developed cost and affordability of healthy diet (CoAHD) metrics have quickly become mainstream food security indicators. However, published research on the sensitivity of estimation methods is limited. This paper focuses on two important innovations in CoAHD measurement at the global level. First, we develop a demographic scaling factor to adjust healthy diet costs for cross-country differences in age structures, since younger populations generally require fewer calories than older populations. Second, we improve the way in which household expenditure available for purchasing food (“food budgets”) are derived. In addition, we explore sensitivity of global CoAHD estimates to potential problems with the representativeness and food product coverage of global food price data and vary assumptions for activity levels that shape energy expenditure requirements. We apply these explorations to the EAT-Lancet reference diet in 137 countries using price data from 2017. Relative to the conventional methods, we find that demographic scaling and improved food budget derivation substantially reduces the estimated population who cannot afford a healthy diet, from 3.02 to 2.13 billion. Adjustments for low product coverage can lead to modest reductions for specific regions and food groups, while higher physical activity assumptions increase the share of people who cannot afford a healthy diet, though perhaps implausibly so. Methods clearly matter in CoAHD estimation, and more accurate and timelier CoAHD estimates have substantial scope to improve policy analysis, design and targeting.

Author ORCID identifiers

Organizations Affiliated to the Authors