Análisis del precio de una dieta saludable y no saludable en la Región Metropolitana de Chile

Obesity remains a serious public health problem worldwide and in Latin America. The implementation of dietary guidelines is a strategy used in Chile and other Latin-American countries to promote healthy eating habits. Evidence from studies in US and Europe suggests that healthy eating patterns have a higher price compared to unhealthy food options. However, this has not been evaluated in Chile. Our goal was to compare the price and relation to energetic density of a healthy diet (HD) that follows the Chilean dietary with an unhealthy diet (UD) in the Metropolitan Region (MR), the most densely populated demographical division in Chile. The HD was obtained from the publication “Cocinasaludable: cómoincluir 5 porciones de frutas y verduras por día”, a book of recipessponsored by theChilean governmentto promote intake of fruits and vegetables that fulfills the Chilean dietary guidelines. The UD was obtained by replacing recipes and food items from the DS with processed foods and recipes typically consumed in Chile. The price database was compiled from databases of the Chilean Government and on-line retailers at MR. The UD has higher energy density, has higher energy from fats and a lower healthy eating index compared with the HD. Price analysis indicated an inverse relation between caloric density and price for food groups and that the UD has an overall lower price compared to the HD. Our results suggest that the higher price of a HD in compliance with the Chilean dietary guidelines could hinder their implementation in the MR, and the transition towards healthy eating habits among its population.