Publication
Title
Development of the Spanish healthy food reference budget for an adequate social participation at the minimum
Author
Abstract
Objective: It has been observed that diet quality and food choices vary depending on socio-economic status (SES), especially when measured through income and educational level. Although the reasons behind these differences are multiple, diet cost is a critical determinant in those groups that spend a higher proportion of their budget on food. Reference budgets are priced baskets containing the minimum goods and services necessary for well-described types of families to have an adequate social participation. In the current paper we describe the development and content of the Spanish Healthy Food Basket (SHFB). Design: National dietary guidelines were translated into monthly food baskets. Next, these baskets were validated in terms of acceptability and feasibility through focus group discussions, and finally they were priced. S etting: The focus group discussions and the pricing were performed in Barcelona, Spain. Subjects: Twenty adults aged 30-50 years from different SES backgrounds and their children aged 2-22 years participated in three discussion groups. Results: The SHFB complies with the dietary recommendations for the Spanish population. The monthly cost of this basket ranges from 131.63 (SIC) to 573.80 (SIC) depending on the type of family. Conclusions: The SHFB does not have the purpose of prescribing what people should eat, but of estimating a minimum budget threshold below which healthy eating is not possible for well-described types of families. Thus, the SHFB is an educative guide on how to plan a healthy food budget and orient policies designed to guarantee food access and reduce SES inequalities.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Public health nutrition. - -
Publication
2016
ISSN
1368-9800
DOI
10.1017/S1368980016001026
Volume/pages
19 :17 (2016) , p. 3232-3244
ISI
000411259000019
Pubmed ID
27173382
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
UAntwerpen
Research group
Publication type
Subject
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 27.08.2021
Last edited 30.08.2024
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