An Economic Gap Between the Recommended Healthy Food Patterns and Existing Diets of Minority Groups in the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2013-14

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has identified three Healthy Food Patterns as ways to implement the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. We estimated the daily cost of the Healthy Vegetarian, US-Style, and Mediterranean Food Patterns (at 2,000 kcal/d) using national food prices adjusted for inflation. We also estimated the cost of existing dietary intakes in $/2,000 kcal/d for persons >= 2 years in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES 2013-2014) using the same national food prices. The Nutrient Rich Food index (NRF9.3) was used as a measure of diet quality. Compared to existing diets, the USDA Healthy Food Patterns were higher in protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals; were lower in solid fats, sugars, and sodium, and had higher diet quality scores. However, they also cost more. The cost of existing diets in NHANES was $5.47/d for Hispanics, $5.48/d for African-Americans, $5.94/d for Whites and $6.57/d for Asians. By contrast, the recommended US-Style Pattern cost $8.27/d, the Vegetarian Pattern cost $5.90/d, and the Mediterranean Pattern cost $8.73/d. Further, the Healthy Food Patterns featured some of the recommended food groups in unrealistic amounts. To ensure that the US Dietary Guidelines are both feasible and relevant to minority health, economic modeling studies should accompany government-issued dietary advice.