Affordability of a nutrient adequate diet: ratio of cost to food expenditures

Calculation

Cost of nutrient adequacy uses linear programming to determine the lowest cost diet that adheres to nutrient constraints, including the estimated average requirement of essential nutrients as well as upper limits of toxicity, energy balance (for a healthy adult woman), and macronutrient distribution ranges. This cost is then divided by a country's average food and non-alcoholic beverage expenditure.

Definition

The ratio of the cost of a nutrient adequate diet to total food expenditure per capita per day from national accounts. Data available for 2017.

Relevance

The cost of food can present a significant barrier to consumption of nutritious diets by restricting economic access to nutritious food. This indicator compares CoNA to the average amount per person that households in a country typically spend on food. Affordability can be limited by high prices, low income, or both. This indicator shows that CoNA is higher than average household food expenditure in many countries.