Food costs of different diets: comparison of an average German diet and a diet according to recommendations for the prevention of nutrition-related diseases

Eva Mertens, Katja Schneider, Erika Claupein, Achim Spiller, Ingrid Hoffmann, Gießen

The present study deals with food costs of a diet consistent with recommendations for the prevention of nutrition-related diseases compared to an average German mixed diet.

Based on data of the Gießen Wholesome Nutrition Study und the study Calculation of Costs for the diet in private households, the food intake of women practising wholesome Nutrition and women eating an average German mixed diet was converted into food consumption data and multiplied by food prices. This allows the calculation of food costs of habitually practised diets instead of comparing the costs of single food items or food groups or the exchange of single food items.

The results show that a food selection according to the recommendations for the prevention of nutritionrelated diseases causes costs that are 12.3 % lower than for an average German mixed diet. The differences in the food costs are due to quantitative and qualitative variations in the food selection.

Keywords: food costs, Wholesome Nutrition, average German mixed diet, habitually practised diets.

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