Nutrient Dense, Low-Cost Foods Can Improve the Affordability and Quality of the New Zealand Diet-A Substitution Modeling Study.

ABSTRACT: The high prevalence of non-communicable disease in New Zealand (NZ) is driven in part by unhealthy diet selections, with food costs contributing to an increased risk for vulnerable population groups. This study aimed to: (i) identify the nutrient density-to-cost ratio of NZ foods; (ii) model the impact of substituting foods with a lower nutrient density-to-cost ratio with those with a higher nutrient density-to-cost ratio on diet quality and affordability in representative NZ population samples for low and medium socioeconomic status (SES) households by ethnicity; and (iii) evaluate food processing level. Foods were categorized, coded for processing level and discretionary status, analyzed for nutrient density and cost, and ranked by nutrient density-to-cost ratio. The top quartile of nutr

SUBMITTER: Starck CS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8345759 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature