Healthy Eating Pattern Costs 25 Percent, Almost a Third of the World's Population Can't Afford It

Illustration of healthy food. The UN notes that the cost of a nutritious diet has risen by 25 percent in the past five years and is not affordable by almost a third of the world's population. Illustration photo: Pexels.

JAKARTA - Almost one in three people in the world is unable to buy food that meets all nutritional needs. The cost of a healthy diet has risen 25 percent in the past five years and now exceeds the global extreme poverty line.

Euronews, quoted Tuesday, July 21, said the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations or FAO estimates that 2.69 billion people cannot afford a healthy diet.

"As a result, 2.69 billion people, or almost one in every three people in the world, are still unable to buy healthy food," said FAO Chief Economist Máximo Torero Cullen.

The statement was made ahead of the launch of the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report on July 21.

According to Torero, the cost of a healthy diet currently reaches 4.28 US dollars per person per day. This value has been adjusted to the difference in living costs between countries.

This figure is higher than the global extreme poverty line of 3 US dollars per person per day. This line is an international measure to assess the most severe poverty.

The question is not just getting enough calories. The biggest burden comes when people have to buy foods rich in nutrients.

"Calories are relatively cheap, but nutrition is not," said Torero.

Staple foods such as grains and tubers provide most of the daily calorie needs. However, this food group only accounts for about 13 percent of the total cost of a healthy diet.

In contrast, fruits and vegetables provide only about 5 percent of calories, but account for 16 percent of the total cost. Animal-derived foods account for almost 30 percent of the cost.

Therefore, Torero assessed that the challenge of the world is not merely to produce enough calories. The main issue is to make nutritious foods more affordable.

The World Health Organization or WHO calls unhealthy diets one of the main risk factors for non-communicable diseases, including heart and blood vessel diseases, diabetes, and cancer.