Cost of healthy diet - in Spain

Thursday September 17th, 2009

The healthy so-called Mediterranean diet may prove too expensive for many people, researchers warned today.

Even in the southern European country of Spain, healthy food costs a great deal more than processed food found in supermarkets throughout the western world, researchers found.

The findings come from a study of the eating habits of more than 11,000 Spanish graduates, undertaken last year and involving ten years of data.

A traditional "Mediterranean" diet based on olive oil, fish, vegetables and fruit is regarded as one of the healthiest diets possible and may also include wine.

Researchers found that those who cut their food bills did so by switching to a "Western diet", high in fat, sugar and red meat.

In contrast those who spent more on food, ate less in total than others and ate fewer snacks, according to the report in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

Researcher Dr Maira Bes-Rastrollo, of the University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain, writes: "The evidence in favour of the health benefits of a Mediterranean diet has been steadily accumulating, while the adverse effects of a Western diet on health are not in dispute.

"But it may be helpful to tax unhealthy foods and subsidise healthier options, they suggest, because the high cost of a Mediterranean diet may put some people off."

J Epidemiol Community Health 2009; doi 10.1136/jech.2008.081208

Tags: Diet & Food | Europe | Heart Health

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