Food-level nutrient-to-price analysis and modelled costs of Thai dietary guideline baskets using prices from selected retail outlets in Bangkok, Thailand

Information from the abstract

Abstract Healthy diets can be difficult to achieve when food budgets are constrained, but food-based dietary guidelines rarely indicate which commonly consumed foods provide more nutrient value for their cost. This study combined market price data from Bangkok, Thailand, with Thai food composition data to calculate nutrient-to-price values for 283 commonly consumed foods and to model the costs of food baskets based on Thai Food-Based Dietary Guideline serving recommendations. Rice and starches provided the lowest-cost energy and carbohydrate per Baht. Foods ranking highly for selected micronutrients came from a wider range of groups, including legumes, organ meats, blood products, vegetables, and fruits. Base-case Thai FBDG-based food baskets cost 175.99–271.01 THB/day, equivalent to 48.5%–74.7% of the Bangkok metropolitan minimum daily wage reference. A nutrient-to-price informed basket reduced modelled costs by 62.8%–69.8% without changing the Thai FBDG serving structure. These results show that item choice within the same dietary guideline structure can materially alter estimated food-basket costs and make visible cost differences that are hidden within broad food-group recommendations.

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Related topics: Nutrition, Health, and Society Studies · Economics of Agriculture and Food Markets · Child Nutrition and Water Access