Abstract
Inappropriate diets constitute an important health risk and an increasing environmental burden. Healthy regional diets may contribute to meeting this dual challenge. A palatable, healthy and sustainable New Nordic diet (NND) based on organic products from the Nordic region has been developed. This study assesses whether a large-scale introduction of NND is a cost-effective health promotion strategy by combining an economic model for estimating the utility-maximizing composition of NND, a life cycle assessment model to assess environmental effects of the dietary change, and a health impact model to assess impacts on the disease burden. Consumer expenditure for food and beverages in the NND is about 16% higher than currently, with the largest relative difference in low-income households. Environmental loads from food consumption are 15%–25% lower, and more than 18,000 disability-adjusted life years (DALY) will be saved per year in Denmark. NND exhibits a cost-effectiveness ratio of about €73,000–94,000 per DALY saved. This cost-effectiveness improves considerably, if the NND’s emphasis on organic and Nordic-origin products is relaxed.
Highlights
Inappropriate diets low in fruits, vegetables, whole grain products and seafood omega-3 fatty acids and high in meat, sugar and saturated fats constitute an important risk factor for several diseases, and for mortality, morbidity, quality of life and societal costs [1]
Using Denmark as an illustrative example, the objective of this study is to investigate the cost-effectiveness of a full-scale implementation of the New Nordic Diet as a health promotion intervention, when taking into account consumer expenditures, as well as environmental and distributional impacts, and to indicate, whether promotion of the NND as a strategy to improve public health could be a relevant alternative to other health promotion strategies from a health economic perspective
The relatively low health effect in the lowest income group is explained by diets that are somewhat healthier in this income group and some of the responses to the Average Danish Diet (ADD)-NND shift are smaller. Combining these figures to consider the cost-effectiveness of NND as an intervention to reduce disease burden from the six diseases, we find a net cost of €73,000–94,000 per saved disability-adjusted life years (DALY)
Summary
Inappropriate diets low in fruits, vegetables, whole grain products and seafood omega-3 fatty acids and high in meat, sugar and saturated fats constitute an important risk factor for several diseases, and for mortality, morbidity, quality of life and societal costs [1]. One proposed solution to this dual challenge for society is the development of healthy, regional diets based on local products, such as e.g., the Mediterranean diet [2]. Cuisine” in gourmet restaurants [3], a New Nordic Diet (NND) has been developed based on products from the Nordic region, with a high score in palatability, healthiness and sustainability. The principles of the New Nordic Diet have been delineated in Mithril et al [4]
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