Abstract
BackgroundSeveral studies suggest that a healthy diet with high emphasis on nutritious, low-energy components such as fruits, vegetables, and seafood tends to be more costly for consumers. Derived from the ideas from the New Nordic Cuisine – and inspired by the Mediterranean diet, the New Nordic Diet (NND) has been developed as a palatable, healthy and sustainable diet based on products from the Nordic region. The objective of the study is to investigate economic consequences for the consumers of the NND, compared with an Average Danish Diet (ADD).MethodsCombine quantity data from a randomized controlled ad libitum dietary 6 month intervention for central obese adults (18–65 years) and market retail price data of the products consumed in the intervention. Adjust consumed quantities to market price incentives using econometrically estimated price elasticities.ResultsAverage daily food expenditure of the ADD as represented in the unadjusted intervention (ADD-i) amounted to 36.02 DKK for the participants. The daily food expenditure in the unadjusted New Nordic Diet (NND-i) costs 44.80 DKK per day per head, and is hence about 25% more expensive than the Average Danish Diet (or about 17% when adjusting for energy content of the diet). Adjusting for price incentives in a real market setting, the estimated cost of the Average Danish Diet is reduced by 2.50 DKK (ADD-m), compared to the unadjusted ADD-i diet, whereas the adjusted cost of the New Nordic Diet (NND-m) is reduced by about 3.50 DKK, compared to the unadjusted NND-i. The distribution of food cost is however much more heterogeneous among consumers within the NND than within the ADD.ConclusionOn average, the New Nordic Diet is 24–25 per cent more expensive than an Average Danish Diet at the current market prices in Denmark (and 16–17 per cent, when adjusting for energy content). The relatively large heterogeneity in food costs in the NND suggests that it is possible to compose an NND where the cost exceeds that of ADD by less than the 24–25 per cent.
Highlights
Several studies suggest that a healthy diet with high emphasis on nutritious, low-energy components such as fruits, vegetables, and seafood tends to be more costly for consumers
In the present cost analysis, we focus on participants who did not have a spouse participating, in order to minimize potential problems in the assessment of consumed food quantities. 99 of the completing participants fulfilled this requirement, and of these, 40 followed an Average Danish Diet (ADD) reflecting the average dietary composition of food consumption [26], and 59 followed a New Nordic Diet (NND), building on the principles outlined above
The estimated cost of the Average Danish Diet is reduced by 2.50 DKK (ADD-m), compared to the unadjusted as represented in the unadjusted intervention (ADD-i) diet, whereas the adjusted cost of the New Nordic Diet (NND-m) is reduced by about 3.50 DKK, compared to the unadjusted NND-i, with the main economic savings found in the group of vegetables, and some in dairy and meat products
Summary
Several studies suggest that a healthy diet with high emphasis on nutritious, low-energy components such as fruits, vegetables, and seafood tends to be more costly for consumers. Several studies and reviews [1,2,3] suggest that a healthy diet with high emphasis on nutritious, low-energy components such as fruits, vegetables, and seafood tends to be more costly for consumers, due to the general tendency for low-cost foods to be low in nutrients but high in energy. For this reason, especially low-income consumers tend to compose their diet of foods with poor. The NND is described by the overall guidelines: (i) more calories from plant foods and fewer from meat; (ii) more foods from the sea and lakes; and (iii) more foods from the wild countryside
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
