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Assessing healthy diet affordability in a cohort with major depressive disorders
This 2015 research paper used participants from the ‘supporting the modification of lifestyle in lowered emotional states’ (SMILES) trial to assess whether a healthy diet is affordable for a sample population with major depressive disorders. The first 20 subjects of the SMILES trial were invited to complete a 7-day food diary at baseline, the results of which were used in the cost analysis alongside the implementation of a modified Mediterranean diet (recommended for trial participants). The 20 people from the SMILES trial spent an estimated average of $138 per week on food and beverages for personal consumption, whereas for the recommended modified Mediterranean diet the estimated mean spend per person was $112. The modified Mediterranean diet at $1.54 per mega-joules (MJ) was cheaper per energy unit than the cost of the current dietary intake of the SMILES participants included in this study (at a mean of $2.35 per MJ). These findings suggest the healthy modified Mediterranean diet is cheaper than a poor quality diet, and highlights the possible need for public health messages getting the fact across that healthy eating does not exactly equal greater costs to a household, and that this strategy for selecting nutritious foods on a budget could support the achievement of desired dietary goals for preventing and managing chronic disease. [NPID: SMILES, major depressive disorder, MDD, Mediterranean diet, cost-effective, budget, chronic disease]
Year: 2015
