Diet sehat itu lebih mahal

Penelitian di Australia ini mendapatkan bahwa kebiasaan makan yang sehat lebih mahal sehingga membebani untuk keluarga yang welfare-dependent.

 

A healthy diet consistent with Australian health recommendations is too expensive for welfare-dependent families

Christine Kettings ¹ and Andrew J. Sinclair ¹ Melanie Voevodin ²

¹ School of Exercise and Nutrition Science, Deakin University, Melbourne, Victoria ² Nestlé Healthcare Nutrition, Melbourne, Victoria

Correspondence to: 
Melanie Voevodin, Nestlé Healthcare Nutrition, 20-24 Howleys Road, Notting Hill, Victoria 3168, Australia. Fax: (03) 8588 0599; e-mail:melanie.voevodin@au.nestle.com

KEYWORDS

food cost • food security • Australian Dietary Guidelines • low-income family

ABSTRACT

Objective: Examine the cost of healthy food habits for welfare-dependent families in Australia.

Method: A seven-day meal plan was developed, based on Australian public health recommendations, for two typical welfare-dependent families: a couple-family (two adults, two children) and a one-parent family (one adult, two children). The cost of the meal plan was calculated using market brand and generic brand grocery items, and total cost compared to income.

Results: In Australia, the cost of healthy food habits uses about 40% of the disposable income of welfare-dependent families. Families earning an average income would spend only 20% of their disposable income to buy the same healthy food. Substituting generic brands for market brands reduced the weekly food cost by about 13%. This is one of few economic models to include generic brands.

Conclusion: Compared with average-income Australian families, healthy food habits are a fiscal challenge to welfare-dependent families.

Implications: These results provide a benchmark for economic and social policy analysis, and the influence disposable income has on prioritising healthy food habits.