Association of monetary diet cost of foods and diet quality in Spanish older adults

Front Public Health. 2023 Jul 25:11:1166787. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1166787. eCollection 2023.

Abstract

Background: A major barrier to a healthy diet may be the higher price of healthy foods compared to low-quality foods.

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the association between the monetary cost of food and diet quality in Spanish older adults at high risk of cardiovascular disease.

Methods: Cross-sectional analysis was carried out in Spanish older adults (n = 6,838; 48.6% female). A validated food frequency questionnaire was used to assess dietary intake. Metabolic syndrome severity, adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet), adherence to a provegetarian dietary pattern, and dietary inflammatory index were assessed. The economic cost of the foods was obtained from the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food database (2015-2017, the period of time when the participants were recruited). The total cost of diet adjusted per 1,000 kcal was computed.

Results: The healthier dietary pattern was associated with a higher cost of the diet. Higher adherence to the MedDiet, anti-inflammatory diet, and the healthy version of the provegetarian dietary pattern were related to higher costs of the diet.

Conclusion: Higher diet quality was associated with a higher dietary cost of the diet per 1,000 kcal/day. Food prices can be an important component of interventions and policies aimed at improving people's diets and preventing diet-related chronic diseases.

Clinical trial registry number: The trial was registered in 2014 at the International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial (ISRCT; http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN89898870) with the number 89898870.

Keywords: Mediterranean diet; dietary inflammatory index; metabolic syndrome; monetary cost; provegetarian dietary pattern.

Publication types

  • Clinical Trial
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Diet, Healthy
  • Diet, Mediterranean*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male

Grants and funding

The PREDIMED-Plus trial was supported by the European Research Council (Advanced Research Grant 2013–2018, 340918) to MM-G and the official funding agency for biomedical research of the Spanish government, ISCIII, through the Fondo de Investigación para la Salud (FIS), which is co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (five coordinated FIS projects led by JS-S and JVid, including the following projects: PI13/00673, PI13/00492, PI13/00272, PI13/01123, PI13/00462, PI13/00233, PI13/02184, PI13/00728, PI13/01090, PI13/01056, PI14/01722, PI14/00636, PI14/00618, PI14/00696, PI14/01206, PI14/01919, PI14/00853, PI14/01374, PI14/00972, PI14/00728, PI14/01471, PI16/00473, PI16/00662, PI16/01873, PI16/01094, PI16/00501, PI16/00533, PI16/00381, PI16/00366, PI16/01522, PI16/01120, PI17/00764, PI17/01183, PI17/00855, PI17/01347, PI17/00525, PI17/01827, PI17/00532, PI17/00215, PI17/01441, PI17/00508, PI17/01732, PI17/00926, PI19/00957, PI19/00386, PI19/00309, PI19/01032, PI19/00576, PI19/00017, PI19/01226, PI19/00781, PI19/01560, PI19/01332, PI20/01802, PI20/00138, PI20/01532, PI20/00456, PI20/00339, PI20/00557, PI20/00886, and PI20/01158), the Especial Action Project entitled: Implementación y evaluación de una intervención intensive sobre la actividad física Cohorte PREDIMED-Plus grant to JS-S, the Recercaixa Grant to JS-S (2013ACUP00194), Grants from the Consejería de Salud de la Junta de Andalucía (PI0458/2013, PS0358/2016, and PI0137/2018), a Grant from the Generalitat Valenciana (PROMETEO/2017/017 and PROMETEO 2021/21), a SEMERGEN Grant, EU-COST Action CA16112, Grants (FOLIUM, PRIMUS, SYNERGIA, and LIBERI) from Balearic Islands Health Research Institute (IDISBA), funds from the European Regional Development Fund (CIBEROBN CB06/03 and CB12/03), and from the European Commission (EAT2BENICE_H2020_SFS2016). Fundació La Marató TV3 (project ref. 201630.10). CB received a Margalida Comas Grant and a Juan de la Cierva Grant. The funding sponsors had no role in the design of the study, in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of the data; in the writing of the manuscript; and in the decision to publish the results. JS-S was partially supported by ICREA under the ICREA Academia programme.