Study: Healthy diet cost consumers more

A new University of Washington study has concluded that adhering to federal nutritional guidelines would add $380 to the average consumer’s annual food bill (Source: “Study finds abiding by new US nutritional guidelines means spending more at the grocery store,” Associated Press via Washington Post,  Aug. 4, 2011).

The study, titled “Following Federal Guidelines To Increase Nutrient Consumption May Lead To Higher Food Costs For Consumers,” was published in the journal Health Affairs.“We know more than ever about the science of nutrition, and yet we have not yet been able to move the needle on healthful eating,” said lead researcher Pablo Monsivais, an assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology and the School of Public Health at the University of Washington.The study recommends that the government should do more to provide help for meeting the nutritional guidelines in an affordable way.