Abstract
Background: Adoption of a certain dietary pattern is determined by different factors such as taste, cost, convenience, and nutritional value of food. Objective: To assess the association between the daily cost of a diet and its overall quality in a cohort of 6–12-year-old Spanish schoolchildren. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on a cohort (n = 130; 47% female) of 6–12-year-old children schooled in primary education in the central region of Spain. Three-day 24 h records were administered, and the nutritional quality of the diet was also determined by means of Mediterranean Adequacy Index (MAI). A questionnaire on sociodemographic data, frequency of eating in fast-food restaurants, and supplement intake were also recorded. The person responsible for the child’s diet and the schooler himself completed the questionnaires, and homemade measures were used to estimate the size of the portions. Food prices were obtained from the Household Consumption Database of the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. The economic cost of the diet was calculated by multiplying the amount in grams of the food consumed by each child by the corresponding price in grams and adding up the total amount for each participant. The total economic cost of the diet was calculated in €/day and in €/1000 kcal/day. Results: The area under the curve (AUC) for €/day and €/1000 kcal/day represent 62.6% and 65.6%, respectively. According to AUC values, adherence to Mediterranean diet (MD) is a moderate predictor of the monetary cost of the diet. A direct relationship between the cost of the diet and the adherence to MD was observed [OR (€/1000 kcal/day) = 3.012; CI (95%): 1.291; 7.026; p = 0.011]. Conclusions: In a cohort of Spanish schoolchildren with low adherence to the MD, a higher cost of the diet standardized to 1000 kcal was associated with above-average MAI values.
Highlights
An optimal diet has positive effects on physical and mental health [1,2]
Prior studies have shown that Spanish children and adolescents move away from the Mediterranean diet (MD) pattern [8]
This index may not be fully adapted to the MD pattern [9]
Summary
An optimal diet (balanced, varied, healthy, personalized, palatable, and functional) has positive effects on physical and mental health [1,2]. The Mediterranean diet (MD) has been recognized as an optimal diet model, and scientific evidence has shown health benefits, especially in the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases in adults, children, and adolescents [3,4,5,6,7]. To assess the quality of the diet, different indices have been used, such as the Diet. This index may not be fully adapted to the MD pattern [9]. Others such as the Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS) or the Mediterranean. Objective: To assess the association between the daily cost of a diet and its overall quality in a cohort of 6–12-year-old Spanish schoolchildren
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