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The High Cost of Health

Posted February 24, 2008 at 12:00 PM by Alexandra Haller

Section: Her Health, Her Nutrition, Healthy Eating, Her News

In January, I came across an article from msnbc that has weighed heavily on my mind. It discussed the cost of quality eating. According to University of Washington researchers, the cost of healthy foods is increasing. This is especially noticeable when compared to the fact that less nutritious foods are actually becoming cheaper.

The findings of the research highlight the struggle to eat healthy when working within a limited budget. The study discovered that “low-calorie, nutrient-rich foods ---mainly fruits and vegetables ---were far more expensive, calorie for calorie, than sweets and snack foods.”

On a personal level this isn’t exactly surprising information. I do have my vices, but when it comes to what I put into my mouth, I am determined to eat well. And I should because I write about exercise and nutrition. I aim to eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables every day. I am conscious of getting enough fiber in my food. I scrutinize varying boxes at the grocery store to compare calories and sugar and fat. My conundrum is that I know I need to eat healthy, but it’s not always an easy thing to do because of the expense involved.

These researchers only confirmed what I already believed. “The average price of the lowest-calorie foods---including green vegetables, tomatoes and berries---increased by almost 20 percent over 2 years. In contrast, in the same time period there was a 2-percent dip in the cost of the most calorie-laden fare, such as butter, potato chips, cookies and candy bars.”

If in a five day workweek, I add fruit to my breakfast cereal, eat apples, oranges and carrots for snacks, add vegetables to my sandwich and my dinner, I’m looking at spending $30 easily. That doesn’t even include the rest of the food in each meal. And I’m only one person.

If I were to only eat granola bars for breakfast, grab a slice of pizza for lunch, snack on vending machine chips and eat a microwave meal for dinner, then I could probably get by on $30 a week. If you want to eat SpaghettiO’s and processed meat and white bread, you can do that cheaply. These findings made the researchers wonder if this is why we often see overweight people in the lowest income brackets. Good question. After all, anyone can find a Stouffer’s microwave meal for $2, but is there ever a sale on fage yogurt? Have you seen how much avocados cost?

Once you see the financial disparity of certain foods, it’s easy to notice very real problems in our society when it comes to how we view and treat the idea of healthy living. It takes a little bit more money to eat nutritious foods. It takes some education on the part of the buyer to discern what foods actually are the healthiest. Heck, it takes time to walk down every aisle and mentally tabulate the cost and the nutrient content of every box, bag and package that you throw into your cart. I know that not everyone has the money, the time and/or the knowledge to shop so carefully. This is why I believe the government could be of some assistance. Two contributors to this study shared my thoughts.

“Whereas (calorie)-dense foods remain the most affordable option, the price of the recommended healthful foods of lower (calorie) density has disproportionately increased,” write Drs. Pablo Monsivais and Adam Drewnowski. They add that, along with encouraging Americans to change their personal behavior, the government may need to make policy shifts that help people eat more healthful foods — such as changes in the way the government subsidizes the agricultural industry.

If you don’t want to wait on the government to come to a consensus, what can you do? For one, accept the reality of some of the costs. I remind myself that more money spent now will translate into less money spent later, the idea being that I will be healthy enough to avoid some chronic diseases.

Also, it helps to be flexible. If you are fixated on a particular yogurt brand, could you try a different type of another product? At first glance the 20 cent savings might seem inconsequential but over the cost of many items, for many weeks the savings add up.

Of course, it always helps to shop around. I found a market that only sells fruits and vegetables, but they are unbelievably inexpensive. Sure it can be inconvenient to buy my veggies from one location and everything else from a different grocery store, but sometimes I can save $10 or $15.

In conclusion, keep in mind that the cost of eating healthy now translates to a lower cost of staying healthy and living a long life. Throw more berries on your cereal. Budget wisely. Know that being around for the birth of your grandchildren is something one can never put a price on.

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Tags: cost of healthy food, health by income, healthy eating, healthy lifestyle, lifestyle demographics, nutrition cost, nutrition expense, nutrition studies

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