News© Institutional Communication, 09/28/09

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A Mediterranean Diet is more expensive than a “Western” diet

A recent study by the SUN Project (University of Navarra Diet and Lifestyle Tracking Program) helped to demonstrate this information

Maira Bes Rastrollo
Photo: Manuel Castells

According to a study by the SUN Project (University of Navarra Diet and Lifestyle Tracking Program,) a Mediterranean diet may be healthier than a “Western” diet, but it is also more expensive, as shown by the comparison and analysis of the costs of these diets.

The results of the research project, carried out at the Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health of the University of Navarra, have just been published in the online edition of the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

The data used was obtained by analyzing the dietary patterns of over 17,000 college graduates in 2008. “Participants completed a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire, with 136 food items grouped into 30 categories, specifying the amount consumed in grams per day. With this information, we then calculated the costs of the food using the official data already available," explained the Lead Researcher, Maira Bes-Rastrollo.

At the same time, a principal component analysis (PCA) was used to determine if participants followed a predominantly Mediterranean diet (rich in olive oil, legumes, fish, fruits, vegetables) or a so called "Western" diet (high in fat, sugar, red meat, fast food, industrial bakery products and high-sugar carbonated drinks.) "The results showed that greater adherence to a Mediterranean diet is associated with higher costs, whereas adherence to a “Western” diet is associated with lower costs," said Bes-Rastrollo.

Promoting healthy food consumption

Inexpensive grocery shopping was shown to be connected with elevated consumption of high-energy-density foods and snacking.

The principal author of the project, Maira Bes-Rastrollo, stated that there is increasing scientific evidence concerning the benefits of a Mediterranean Diet, "while at the same time we are constantly seeing the adverse effects of junk food; which suggests that raising taxes on unhealthy foods and subsidizing healthy foods could keep consumers from rejecting a healthy diet for being more expensive.”

The (Follow-up Study of the University of Navarra), under the supervision of Dr. Miguel Ángel Martínez-González, was launched in 1999 with the goal of evaluating the relation between diets, diseases and certain chronic conditions such as obesity. The project is based on participants' responses to questionnaires sent every two years and has the participation of more than 20,000 volunteers, making it one of the largest epidemiological studies carried out in Spain.