Cost of Recommended Diet (CoRD) and Its Affordability in Bangladesh

Geospatial variation in dietary patterns and their association with heart disease in Bangladeshi population: Evidence from a nationwide survey

Heart disease is a significant public health threat, and its burden is increasing worldwide. Recent evidence suggests that dietary pattern is a key modifiable factor for heart disease. Research regarding dietary patterns and heart disease in Bangladesh with their spatial variability is limited. In this study, the spatial variation and relationship between dietary patterns and heart disease among Bangladeshi people was investigated. The country-representative Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2016 dataset was used, and a total of 77,207 participants aged 30 years and over were included. A principal component analysis was conducted to derive the dietary patterns. Both statistical and spatial analyses were performed. The overall prevalence of heart disease was 3.6%, with a variation of 0.6% to 10.4% across districts of Bangladesh. Three major dietary patterns, named "festival pattern", "pickles and fast foods pattern", and "rice and vegetable pattern" were identified, accounting for 25.2% of the total dietary variance. Both the dietary pattern and heart disease rate varied across the region. A higher risk of heart disease was persistent in the western-south, southern, central, and eastern regions, as was greater adherence to the "festival pattern" and "pickles and fast foods pattern." After adjusting for confounders, participants with the highest adherence to the "rice and vegetable pattern" were associated with a lower likelihood of developing heart disease (AOR: 0.78, 95% CI: 0.64-0.95, p <0.05), while the highest adherence to the "pickles and fast foods pattern" was associated with a higher likelihood of developing heart disease (AOR: 1.50, 95% CI: 1.27-1.76, p <0.001). The spatial disparities in the prevalence of heart disease and dietary patterns underscore the significance of prioritizing intervention at the district level, especially in the western-south, southern, central, and eastern regions, to control the rising heart disease trends in Bangladesh.

Cost and affordability of healthy diets in Vietnam

OBJECTIVES

To estimate the cost and affordability of healthy diets recommended by the 2016-2020 Vietnamese food-based dietary guidelines (FBDG).

DESIGN

Cross-sectional analysis. The Cost of a Healthy Diet (CoHD) indicator was used to estimate the lowest cost of healthy diets and compare the cost differences by food group, region and seasonality. The affordability of healthy diets was measured by further comparing the CoHD to food expenditures and incomes.

SETTING

Food prices of 176 food items from January 2016 to December 2020 were derived using data from monthly Consumer Price Index databases nationally and regionally.

PARTICIPANTS

Food expenditures and incomes of participants from three latest Vietnam Household Living Standard Surveys were used.

RESULTS

The average CoHD between 2016 and 2020 in Vietnam was 3·08 international dollars using 2017 Purchasing Power Parity (24 070 Vietnamese Dongs). The nutrient-rich food groups, including protein-rich foods, vegetables, fruits and dairy, comprised approximately 80 % of the total CoHD in all regions, with dairy accounting for the largest proportion. Between 2016 and 2020, the cheapest form of a healthy diet was affordable for all high-income and upper-middle-income households but unaffordable for approximately 70 % of low-income households, where adherence to the Vietnamese FBDG can cost up to 70 % of their income.

CONCLUSIONS

Interventions in local food systems must be implemented to reduce the cost of nutrient-rich foods to support the attainment of healthier diets in the Vietnamese population, especially for low-income households.

Challenging the Status Quo to Shape Food Systems Transformation from a Nutritional and Food Security Perspective: Second Edition

Access to and choices of food are doubtless beyond the realms of biological and nutritional needs [...].