Food Prices Impact Healthy Eating

There remains a lot of debate over whether various food pricing strategies can help individuals develop better eating habits and reduce their risk of becoming overweight or obese.  While studies have suggested that increasing the price of unhealthy foods can improve diet quality, other studies have reported that consumers prefer that healthy foods get discounted rather than see an increase in the cost of unhealthy foods. 

A recent nutrition research study published online ahead of print in the Journal of Nutrition explored the relationship between food prices, fast food consumption, and diet quality among U.S. children.  Fast food prices and fruit and vegetable prices were examined in relationship to their dietary consumption by over 6,500 young children and over 1,500 teens who took part in the Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals.  While relationships in teens were inconsistent according to the researchers, observations in young children showed that:

• Higher fast food prices were linked to lower consumption of fast foods, higher intakes of dietary fiber, higher calcium consumption, higher dairy consumption, higher intakes of fruits and vegetables, and an improved overall healthy eating index.
• Lower costs of fruits and vegetables were linked to greater fiber consumption and reduced body mass index.

Overall, this newest study continues to suggest that food prices can impact diet quality and childhood obesity.  This particular study suggests that increasing the cost of fast foods reduces the consumption of these foods and increases dietary quality of U.S. children.  This study also points out that the high cost of healthy foods like fruits and vegetables is linked to a higher body mass index.  Unfortunately, the cost of healthy foods appears to still be increasing.  A recent Australian study reported that while healthy eating still requires about 30% of a family's income, the cost of healthy foods continues to rise.   In fact, from 2000 - 2009 the cost of vegetables rose by about 40% and the cost of fruit rose by 64% in Australia. Another study reports that the cost of nutrient dense foods (more healthy) in Seattle, Washington increased by 29% between 2004 - 2008, while the cost of foods with a low nutrient density (less healthy) only increased by 16% over the same time span with the cost of the most nutritious foods being about 9 times greater than the least nutritious foods. 

These studies make it clear that in general healthier foods cost quite a bit more than less nutritious foods and that various pricing strategies like increasing the cost of less nutritious foods and decreasing the cost of healthy foods can impact dietary quality.  While taking both approaches might have the best overall effect of improving our eating habits and reducing our risk for becoming overweight or obese, any increase in food prices will probably not be well received by any of us.  Finding the best and least costly approach to improving the quality of our diets will take a lot of work and almost certainly won't happen right away.  In the meantime, look for nutrient dense foods that fit your budget and try to minimize the amount of energy dense foods in your diet.

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Soda Tax Reduces Consumption of Regular Sodas

Many public officials and policy makers in the United States have been pushing for a tax on foods considered to be unhealthy. While much of America is opposed to such a tax, research exploring the effectiveness of such a strategy continues to give the concept traction.

A new study from Harvard's Brigham and Women's Hospital reports that imposing a tax on regular sodas reduced consumption of regular sodas in the hospital.  For this study, researchers measured soda purchases at their normal price before the study started.  They then imposed three primary interventions: a 35% tax on regular sodas, an educational program about the benefits of drinking zero-calorie alternatives, and a combination of the 35% tax with the educational program.  The results of the study showed that:

• Regular soft drink sales dropped by 26% during the price increase phase of the study.
• The education program by itself had no effect on sales.
• Combining the 35% tax with the education program reduced sales of regular sodas by an additional 18%.

While many of us clearly do not want to hear these kind of results, it appears that taxing unhealthy foods might be an effective way to help us change our dietary habits.  An earlier study conducted in two Dutch cities reported that consumers preferred strategies that encouraged healthy eating, reduced the price of healthy foods, and educated the public with appropriate marketing messages.  Despite this preference, other studies have reported that decreasing prices of healthy foods did NOT alter the nutritional value of consumers' dietary intake. 

While research studies are suggesting that taxing unhealthy foods might be effective, a recent Harris Poll clearly shows that the majority of Americans are opposed to such a tax.  According to this poll, 56% of the population are opposed to such a tax, 31% are supportive, and 13% are not sure.  If a tax on unhealthy foods becomes reality, it is likely that additional changes will still be necessary.  Attacking the obesity problem has to be done on multiple fronts, so such things as improving public health messages and reducing serving sizes at restaurants should still be part of solution.

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Perceptions on Pricing Strategies to Reduce Obesity

Pricing strategies to encourage healthy eating habits and reduce obesity risk are frequently discussed in the mainstream media.  These pricing strategies typically revolve around either discounting healthy foods, taxing unhealthy foods, or combination of the two.  In a previous blog, I discussed two recent studies that suggested pricing strategies might be effective at reducing overall calorie intake, which might lead to a reduction in obesity risk.  However, how these pricing strategies will be received by the consumer is still uncertain.

A new focus group oriented study explored the perceptions that consumers have about different pricing strategies.  For this study, researchers recruited 7 focus groups from deprived neighborhoods in two large cities and discussed 4 topics related to pricing strategies:

• Factors in food selection
• Attitudes and perceptions regarding food prices
• Designing pricing strategies
• Attitudes and perceptions of professionally developed pricing strategies

These focus group discussions revealed a lot of interesting information on consumers perceptions about pricing strategies:

• Price was seen as an effective tool for inducing healthier food choices
• The focus groups valued pricing strategies that focused on encouraging healthy eating more than strategies designed to discourage unhealthy eating.
• Focus group members suggested pricing strategies that included reducing the price of healthy foods, providing a healthy food discount card for low-income families, and combining price discounts with displaying healthy foods at the point of purchase.
• The focus groups believed that pricing strategies could only be effective when combined with appropriate marketing.

These are interesting results, especially in light of the previous studies on pricing strategies.  According to this focus group study, consumers appear to substantially favor strategies that revolve around the reduction in prices of healthy foods, which is not surprising.  However, the previous studies have reported that reducing the price of healthy food choices did not alter the nutritional value of consumers' dietary intake and resulted in an increase in overall calorie consumption.  In contrast, these earlier studies reported that increasing the price of fast food and taxing unhealthy foods led to an increase in the nutritional value of food purchased, a reduction in overall calories purchased and less weight gain.  The overall picture provided by these studies suggests a disconnect between what has been reported to be effective at stimulating the consumption of healthier foods and what consumers perceive as a more desirable option.  Strategies to close this disconnect and find a way to effectively stimulate healthier eating while reducing cost are needed.  Perhaps, the use of appropriate marketing tools as discussed by the focus group members in this new study might help close this disconnect.

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