Price is one of the most important influences on what foods people choose to buy. Affordability of healthy food is critical to ensuring population health equity, and to addressing food security. Accordingly, it is essential to monitor the cost and affordability of foods, with a focus on the prices of healthy, compared with unhealthy, foods and diets.
Indicator | Result | Assessment* | What was measured? | Source |
---|---|---|---|---|
Current spend on unhealthy food and drinks as a proportion of total amount spent on food** |
Queensland (2020): 60% |
Cost of total, healthy and discretionary components of dietary intake reported in the Australian Health Survey 2011-13, for a family of two adults and two children per fortnight. |
Greater Melbourne (unpublished) |
|
Cost of a healthy diet relative to the cost of current dietˆ |
||||
High socioeconomic urban areas |
Queensland: 19% less expensive |
Cost of recommended diet consistent with the Australian Dietary Guidelines for family of two adults and two children per fortnight, relative to cost of current diet, in different locations |
||
Low socioeconomic areas |
Queensland: 19% less expensive Tasmania: 16-22% less expensive |
Cost of recommended diet consistent with the Australian Dietary Guidelines for family of two adults and two children per fortnight, relative to cost of current diet, in different locations |
||
Very remote areasˆˆ |
Queensland: 24% less expensive |
Cost of recommended diet consistent with the Australian Dietary Guidelines for family of two adults and two children per fortnight, relative to cost of current diet, in different locations |
||
Cost of healthy diet as a proportion of incomeˆ |
||||
Low-income groups |
Queensland: 27% |
Cost of recommended diet as a proportion of indicative disposable household income |
||
Low-income groups – rural and very remote areasˆˆ |
Queensland: 34% Rural Victoria: 32% |
Cost of recommended diet as a proportion of indicative disposable household income |
Lee, Patay et al. (2021) |
|
Median-income groups |
Queensland: 21% Canberra: 18% |
Cost of recommended diet as a proportion of gross median household income |
||
Sydney: 32% Rural Victoria: 30% |
Cost of recommended diet as a proportion of gross median household income |
|||
Cost of a healthy diet per fortnight for a family of fourˆ |
||||
High socioeconomic urban areas |
Queensland: $628 |
Cost of recommended diet consistent with the Australian Dietary Guidelines for family of two adults and two children per fortnight, in different locations |
||
Low socioeconomic areas |
Sydney: $589 Queensland: $658 Rural Victoria: $702 |
Cost of recommended diet consistent with the Australian Dietary Guidelines for family of two adults and two children per fortnight, in different locations |
||
Very remote areasˆˆ |
Queensland: $813 |
Cost of recommended diet consistent with the Australian Dietary Guidelines for family of two adults and two children per fortnight, in different locations |
||
Price promotions in supermarkets |
||||
Average discount on unhealthy versus healthy foods |
25.9% vs 15.4% |
Weekly online price data for food and beverages from the largest Australian supermarket chain over 1 year (2017-2018) |
* Green = ‘Promotes health’; Amber = ‘Needs further improvement to promote health’; Red = ‘Unhealthy’. Refer to Indicator Assessment Criteria at the bottom of the page.
** The term ‘unhealthy foods’ refers to discretionary foods. The Australian Dietary Guidelines describes discretionary foods as foods and drinks not necessary to provide the nutrients the body needs, but that may add variety. Many discretionary foods are energy dense and high in saturated fats, added sugars and/or sodium. The recommendations are that discretionary foods can be consumed sometimes in small amounts by those who are physically active, but are not a necessary part of the diet.
ˆ The current diet includes the type and quantity of food and drinks for a reference household of two adults and two children per fortnight, based on intakes reported in the most recent national nutrition survey. The healthy diet reflects the recommendations of the Australian Dietary Guidelines, and comprises the healthy food and drinks commonly consumed in the current diet in optimal quantities. The healthy diet is more equitable and more sustainable than the current diet.
ˆˆ In some of the very remote regions surveyed, local level nutrition policies were in place to increase affordability of healthy foods e.g. community store pricing policies that reduced the price of fresh fruit, vegetables and water.
Key Findings
- Under current policy settings in Australia, the current (unhealthy) diet is more expensive than the recommended (healthy) diet in all surveyed locations, regardless of the level of disadvantage or remoteness. However, healthy, recommended diets are not affordable for low socioeconomic groups or those living in very remote locations.
- The costs of both current and recommended diets are highest in very remote areas in Australia. The differential cost of current and healthy, recommended diets is greatest in the very remote areas where store nutrition policies are in place.
- Households in all socioeconomic and geographical areas are driven by the current food environment to spend the majority of their food budget (around 60%) on unhealthy food and drinks.
- The increase in household income for welfare dependent families due to the coronavirus economic support package in 2020 meant purchasing a healthy diet became 29% more affordable than previously (2).
Note: To better understand and inform policy action on food price and affordability in Australia, the Healthy Diets Australian Standardised Affordability and Pricing (ASAP) method protocol and online tool were developed to compare the cost, cost differential and affordability of current (unhealthy) and recommended (healthy, more equitable and more sustainable) diets in Australia. The protocol was finalised through collaborative co-design with over 30 key stakeholders at a national diet cost forum in 2016. Unlike many other indicators of the healthiness of food environments, food prices vary by store outlet, location and time, hence summarising results can be challenging. Healthy Diets ASAP has been applied in different geographical and socioeconomic locations at different times.
Recommended (healthy) diet vs current (unhealthy) diet as per the Healthy Diets (ASAP) protocol
The current diet includes the type and quantity of food and drinks for a reference household of two adults and two children per fortnight, based on intakes reported in the most recent national nutrition survey. The recommended diet is healthy, more equitable and more sustainable than the current diet. It reflects the recommendations of the Australian Dietary Guidelines, and comprises the healthy food and drinks commonly consumed in the current diet in optimal quantities.
Key Recommendations
- To improve population diet and health, urgent policy action is needed to increase household income and/or reduce the price of healthy foods, especially in low socioeconomic and very remote areas.
- Increasing income of welfare dependent and low-income households (e.g. sustaining supplements introduced in response to the coronavirus pandemic) would increase the affordability of healthy, equitable and sustainable diets, and hence improve food security, in Australia.
- In very remote communities, funding of community stores as essential services, and subsidising freight and in-store price of healthy foods, would increase the affordability of healthy, equitable and sustainable diets.
- More effort is needed to counter the perception that healthy, equitable and sustainable diets are more expensive than unhealthy diets, to help encourage healthier choices.
- Healthy food and drinks should remain exempt from GST in Australia. Rather than expand the base of the GST, consideration should be given to increasing the GST (eg. from 10% to 20%) on unhealthy food and drinks.
- Comprehensive monitoring of food environments, including national assessment of diet costs and affordability, is essential to inform and support policy action to improve population diet and reduce the burden of non-communicable disease in Australia.
For more information
Journal Articles
- Hawkes C, Ambikapathi R, Anastasiou K, Brock J, Castronuovo L, Fallon N, Malapit H, Ndumi A, Samuel F, Umugwaneza M, Wanjohi MN. (2022) From food price crisis to an equitable food system. The Lancet. 2022 Aug 6;400(10350):413-6.
- Herath MP, Murray S, Lewis M, Holloway TP, Hughes R, Jayasinghe S, Soward R, Patterson KAE, Byrne NM, Lee AJ, Hills AP, Ahuja KDK. (2023) Habitual Diets Are More Expensive than Recommended Healthy Diets. Nutrients. 2023 Sep 8;15(18):3908
- Lee AJ, Patay D, Herron L-M, Parnell Harrison E and Lewis M. Affordability of current, and healthy, more equitable, sustainable diets by area of socioeconomic disadvantage and remoteness in Queensland: Insights into food choice. Int J Equity Health 20, 153 (2021)
- Lee, A.J., Kane, S., Herron, L.M., Matsuyama, M., & Lewis, M. (2020). A tale of two cities: the cost, price-differential and affordability of current and healthy diets in Sydney and Canberra, Australia. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act, 17, 80.
- Lee, A., & Lewis, M. (2018). Testing the Price of Healthy and Current Diets in Remote Aboriginal Communities to Improve Food Security: Development of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Healthy Diets ASAP (Australian Standardised Affordability and Pricing) Methods. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15, 2912.
-
Lewis M, Herron LM, Chatfield MD, Tan RC, Dale A, Nash S, Lee AJ. Healthy Food Prices Increased More Than the Prices of Unhealthy Options during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Concurrent Challenges to the Food System. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Feb 10;20(4):3146.
- Looi ESY, Backholer B, Cameron AJ, Grigsby-Duffy L, Orellana L, Sacks G (2022). Price promotions offered by quick service restaurants in Australia: analysis from an obesity prevention perspective. Public Health Nutr. 2022 Mar;25(3):513-527.
- Love, P., Whelan, J., Bell, C., Grainger, F., Russell, C., Lewis, M., et al. (2018). Healthy Diets in Rural Victoria – Cheaper than unhealthy alternatives, yet unaffordable. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 15, 2469.
- Riesenberg D, Backholer K, Zorbas C, Sacks G, Paix A, Marshall J, Blake MR, Bennett R, Peeters A, Cameron AJ. (2019) Price promotions by food category and product healthiness in an Australian supermarket chain, 2017–2018. American journal of public health. 2019 Oct;109(10):1434-9.
Reports
- Lee A, Lewis M, Herron L, Patay D. (2020) Summary Results Brief: Healthy, Equitable and Sustainable Diets: Cost and Affordability in Queensland. 2020.
- Summons S, Lewis M, Patay D, Nona F, Herron L, Ferguson M, et al. (2020) Summary Results Brief. Cost and affordability of healthy, sustainable and equitable diets in the Torres Strait Islands. 2020.
Media
Indicator Assessment Criteria | |||
---|---|---|---|
Metric | |||
Current spend on unhealthy (discretionary) food and drinks as a proportion of total amount spent on food |
< 5% |
5-29% |
≥ 30% |
Cost of a healthy diet relative to the cost of current diet |
Recommended (healthy) diet less expensive than current (unhealthy) diet |
No difference in price |
Recommended (healthy) diet more expensive than current (unhealthy) diet |
Cost of healthy diet as a proportion of income* |
< 25% |
≥ 25-29% |
≥ 30% |
Average discount on unhealthy (discretionary) versus healthy foods (supermarkets) |
No discretionary food and drink price promotions |
Price promotions for healthy food > discretionary food |
Price promotions for discretionary food > healthy food |
*Food stress occurs when diets cost more than 25% of household income; healthy diets are unaffordable when they cost more than 30% of household income (3, 4).
Note: Monitoring absolute costs over time will be adjusted by Consumer Price Index (food).
Sources
(1) Australian Bureau of Statistics. 6401.0 – Consumer Price Index, Australia, Dec 2015 Feature Article: Australian Dietary Guidelines Price Indexes Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics; 2016. http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Previousproducts/6401.0Feature%20Article1Dec%202015?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=6401.0&issue=Dec%202015&num=&view=. Accessed 12 Nov 2017.
(2) Lee A, Patay D, Herron L, Parnell-Harrison E, Lewis M. Affordability of current, and healthy, equitable, sustainable diets by socioeconomic status and remoteness in Queensland: Insights into the drivers of food choice. In press.
(3) Ward PR, Verity F, Carter P, Tsourtos G, Coveney J, Wong KC. Food stress in Adelaide: the relationship between low income and the affordability of healthy food. J Environ Public Health. 2013;2013:968078.
(4) Lee AJ, Kane S, Lewis M, Good E, Pollard CM, Landrigan TJ, et al. Healthy diets ASAP – Australian Standardised Affordability and Pricing methods protocol. Nutrition Journal. 2018;17(1):88.