» Articles » PMID: 20059795

Energy Density, Energy Costs and Income - How Are They Related?

Overview
Date 2010 Jan 12
PMID 20059795
Citations 39
Authors
Affiliations
Soon will be listed here.
Abstract

Objective: To examine the association between energy density and energy costs in single food items and composed diets, and to explore differences in energy density and energy cost between income levels.

Design: A cross-sectional study using data from two Dutch cohort studies and recent national food prices. Food prices were retrieved from two market leader supermarkets. Data on dietary intake were measured using a computerized face-to-face interview (cohort 1) and 24 h recalls (cohort 2).

Setting: The Netherlands.

Subjects: A sample of 373 young adults from the Amsterdam Growth and Health Longitudinal Study (AGHLS, measured in 2000) and a sample of 200 community-dwelling elderly from the Longitudinal Ageing Study Amsterdam (LASA, measured in 2007).

Results: We found significant inverse associations between energy density and energy costs in single food items (r = -0.436, P < 0.01) and composed diets (AGHLS men r = -0.505, women r = -0.413, P < 0.001; LASA men r = -0.559, women r = -0.562, P < 0.001). Furthermore, we found that people stratified into higher energy density quartiles consumed significantly more energy per day, less fruits and vegetables, and had significantly lower diet costs. Explorative analyses on income did not reveal significant differences regarding energy density, costs, or fruit and vegetable intake.

Conclusions: In the Netherlands also, energy density was inversely related with energy costs, implying that healthier diets cost more. However, we could not find differences in energy density or costs between income levels. Future research, using precise food expenditures, is of main importance in studying the economics of obesity and in the aim of making the healthier choice easier.

Citing Articles

The cost of healthy versus current diets in the Netherlands for households with a low, middle and high education.

Hoenink J, Waterlander W, Vandevijvere S, Beulens J, Mackenbach J SSM Popul Health. 2022; 20:101296.

PMID: 36466184 PMC: 9712664. DOI: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2022.101296.


Assessing the Cost of Healthy and Unhealthy Diets: A Systematic Review of Methods.

Russell C, Whelan J, Love P Curr Nutr Rep. 2022; 11(4):600-617.

PMID: 36083573 PMC: 9461400. DOI: 10.1007/s13668-022-00428-x.


Dietary practices, food purchasing, and perceptions about healthy food availability and affordability: a cross-sectional study of low-income Malaysian adults.

Eng C, Lim S, Ngongo C, Sham Z, Kataria I, Chandran A BMC Public Health. 2022; 22(1):192.

PMID: 35090429 PMC: 8795714. DOI: 10.1186/s12889-022-12598-y.


Dietary Intake of Folate and Assessment of the Folate Deficiency Prevalence in Slovenia Using Serum Biomarkers.

Pravst I, Lavrisa Z, Hribar M, Hristov H, Kvarantan N, Korousic Seljak B Nutrients. 2021; 13(11).

PMID: 34836112 PMC: 8620305. DOI: 10.3390/nu13113860.


Stakeholder views on the potential impact of a sugar-sweetened beverages tax on the budgets, dietary intake, and health of lower and higher socioeconomic groups in the Netherlands.

Djojosoeparto S, Eykelenboom M, Poelman M, van Stralen M, Renders C, Olthof M Arch Public Health. 2020; 78(1):125.

PMID: 33292723 PMC: 7687778. DOI: 10.1186/s13690-020-00507-x.