Dietary intake, cost and affordability by socioeconomic group in Australia

Few Australians consume diets consistent with the Australian Dietary Guidelines. A major problem is high intake of discretionary food and drinks (those not needed for health and high in saturated fat, added sugar, salt and/or alcohol). Low socioeconomic groups (SEGs) suffer particularly poor diet-related health. Surprisingly, detailed quantitative dietary data across SEGs was lacking. Analysis of the most recent national nutrition survey data produced habitual intakes of a reference household (two adults and two children) in SEG quintiles of household income. Cost and affordability of habitual and recommended diets for the reference household were determined using methods based on the Healthy Diets Australian Standardised Affordability and Pricing protocol. Low SEGs reported significantly lower intakes of healthy food and drinks yet similarly high intakes of discretionary choices to high SEGs (435 serves/fortnight). Total habitual diets of low SEGs cost significantly less than those of high SEGs (AU$751/fortnight to AU$853/fortnight). Results confirmed low SEGs cannot afford a healthy diet. Lower intakes of healthy choices in low SEGs may help explain their higher rates of diet-related disease compared to higher SEGs. The findings can inform potential policy actions to improve affordability of healthy foods and help drive healthier diets for all Australians.