Food Prices in South Africa: Why Most People Can't Afford to Eat a Healthy Diet

Abstract

Foods with a high content of fat, sugar, and refined cereals are typically cheap but are poor in nutrients and heavy with calories. By contrast, such foods as fish, vegetables, and fruit are richer in nutrients but are also more expensive. As a result of this, healthy diets are generally more expensive than less healthy diets. This was investigated in studies carried out in South Africa. The data shows that when people switch from a regular diet to a healthy diet, food costs jump up. As a result a healthy diet is not affordable for a large part of the population.