UK's Healthy Meals Are Actually Cheaper Than Junk Food, Based On Report

One of the biggest reasons I hear that people don’t purchase healthy food, is that it’s expensive. Everybody perceives healthy food, such as food from Whole Foods and other specialty stores, to be much more expensive than other stores, but this study just proved everybody wrong on that front.

A new report from the UK’s Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) concluded that healthy food purchased at two of the country’s leading supermarkets was significantly cheaper than their junk food variants across 78 different food and drink products. The cost was based by edible weight, and unhealthy foods were shown to be more costly per kilogram.

A typical cheeseburger, which costs a Euro, could easily be replaced by ten apples, seven bananas, or over five pounds of pasta — all of which cost the exact same price.

The cheapness of junk food has often been used as a reason to justify obesity issues in countries like the United Kingdom and United States. This study debunks that theory, at least when it comes to food prices in the UK. Head researcher Chris Snowdon offered up alternative theories for the increase in obesity in an interview with Foodbeast:

“First, food in general is cheaper than ever and so it is easy to eat too much of it. Many of the food groups that are defined as healthy by the UK government can easily be consumed to excess, particularly starchy carbohydrates such as pasta and potatoes. As late as the 1970s, there were millions of people who were not obese simply because it is was not affordable for them to be. Real incomes have since doubled, even among low income groups, so that is no longer the case.”

“The second point is that physical activity has declined steeply as a result of the decline in manual labour and the advance of labour saving devices. Public Health England estimates that physical activity has declined by 24% since the 1960s. (Note that overall physical activity is distinct from leisure time activity, such as going to the gym. The latter has risen, partly as a response to the decline in activity at home and at work, but not enough to offset that decline.)”

“These two factors, taken together, are sufficient to explain the rise in obesity seen since the 1970s.”

So the United Kingdom is eating more and exercising less — things that can easily be reverted to combat obesity.

Healthier food could also potentially be cheaper than junk food in the United States. Although a Harvard study showed that the healthiest possible diet costs $1.50 per day more than a diet based on junk food here, it’s possible that diets that incorporate healthy food could be cheaper.

Along with the factors that Chris Snowdon mentioned above, another factor that contributes to obesity is food insecurity. Millions of Americans don’t have a grocery store that they can go to on a regular basis to purchase food. As such, many of them rely on junk food and processed items as sources of nutrition, which are definitely a major contributor to the obesity problems in America.

In comparison, the United Kingdom addresses its food security by importing 40% of the food that it’s population consumes to ensure it has a constant food supply. This puts a significant proportion of its food supply in danger, as it relies on the success of other countries’ agricultural production to feed its people.

While these factors all play in to obesity, we can all do our part to combat obesity by purchasing less junk food and purchasing more healthy food. It will influence the industry to produce more healthy products and help us all learn to cook at home more.

And in the UK, it’s now proven to be cheaper than purchasing junk food as well.

UK’s Healthy Meals Are Actually Cheaper Than Junk Food, Based On Report

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