A common belief is that eating healthily is expensive or living a “fit life,” especially when seeking to buy organic or natural products. However, research from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) revealed that purchasing vegetables, legumes, fruits, and certain animal proteins costs the same as buying ultra-processed, high-calorie foods and others with no nutritional value.
A group of university students analyzed the costs of the diet for girls, boys, and adolescents in Mexico and found that eating healthily has a similar cost to eating poorly.
The results showed that the dietary patterns of children and adolescents in Mexico City and the Metropolitan Area do not differ significantly in costs between healthy and unhealthy options. This dispels the perception that a healthy diet is more expensive.
The research team administered a food questionnaire to 2,014 children and adolescents aged between 4.5 and 20 years to understand the characteristics of their diet. Subsequently, they analyzed and identified three consumption patterns: healthy, transitional, and unhealthy.
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