bell-healthydietsinrural-2018.pdf (884.44 kB)
Healthy diets in rural Victoria-cheaper than unhealthy alternatives, yet unaffordable
journal contribution
posted on 2018-01-01, 00:00 authored by Penny LovePenny Love, Jill WhelanJill Whelan, Colin BellColin Bell, Felicity Grainger, Cherie Ann Russell, Meron Lewis, Amanda LeeRural communities experience higher rates of obesity and reduced food security compared with urban communities. The perception that healthy foods are expensive contributes to poor dietary choices. Providing an accessible, available, affordable healthy food supply is an equitable way to improve the nutritional quality of the diet for a community, however, local food supply data are rarely available for small rural towns. This study used the Healthy Diets ASAP tool to assess price, price differential and affordability of recommended (healthy) and current diets in a rural Local Government Area (LGA) (pop ≈ 7000; 10 towns) in Victoria, Australia. All retail food outlets were surveyed (n = 40). The four most populous towns had supermarkets; remaining towns had one general store each. Seven towns had café/take-away outlets, and all towns had at least one hotel/pub. For all towns the current unhealthy diet was more expensive than the recommended healthy diet, with 59.5% of the current food budget spent on discretionary items. Affordability of the healthy diet accounted for 30⁻32% of disposable income. This study confirms that while a healthy diet is less expensive than the current unhealthier diet, affordability is a challenge for rural communities. Food security is reduced further with restricted geographical access, a limited healthy food supply, and higher food prices.
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International journal of environmental research and public healthVolume
15Issue
11Article number
2469Pagination
1 - 16Publisher
MDPILocation
Basel, SwitzerlandPublisher DOI
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1660-4601Language
engPublication classification
C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalCopyright notice
2018, the authorsUsage metrics
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