Affordability of Habitual (Unhealthy) and Recommended (Healthy) Diets in the Illawarra Using the Healthy Diets ASAP Protocol

Kathryn Fishlock, Shauna Gibbons, Karen Walton, Katherine Kent, Meron Lewis () and Karen E. Charlton ()
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Kathryn Fishlock: School of Medical, Indigenous and Health Sciences, Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health, University of Wollongong, Northfields Ave, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia
Shauna Gibbons: School of Medical, Indigenous and Health Sciences, Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health, University of Wollongong, Northfields Ave, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia
Karen Walton: School of Medical, Indigenous and Health Sciences, Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health, University of Wollongong, Northfields Ave, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia
Katherine Kent: School of Medical, Indigenous and Health Sciences, Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health, University of Wollongong, Northfields Ave, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia
Meron Lewis: School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, 288 Herston Road, Herston, QLD 4006, Australia
Karen E. Charlton: School of Medical, Indigenous and Health Sciences, Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health, University of Wollongong, Northfields Ave, Wollongong, NSW 2500, Australia

IJERPH, 2025, vol. 22, issue 5, 1-15

Abstract: Amidst a period of sustained inflation and rising living costs, food insecurity is a growing concern in Australia and is correlated with poor diet quality and increased rates of non-communicable diseases. Currently there is a gap in knowledge of the impact of increasing cost-of-living pressures on the affordability of a healthy diet. As affordability plays a key role in food security, this cross-sectional study aimed to examine the costs, affordability, and differential of habitual (unhealthy) and recommended (healthy) diets within the Illawarra region of Australia and compare results to 2022 findings. The Healthy Diets Australian Standardised Affordability and Pricing tool was applied in six locations in the Illawarra, with two randomly selected each from a low, moderate, and high socioeconomically disadvantaged area. Costs were determined for three reference households: a family of four, a single parent family, and a single male. Affordability was determined for the reference households at three levels of income: median gross, minimum-wage, and welfare dependent. Data was compared to data collected in 2022 using the same methods and locations. Recommended diets cost 10.3–36% less than habitual diets depending on household type, but remained unaffordable for welfare dependant households and family households from socioeconomically disadvantaged areas, where diets required 25.5–45.9% of household income. Due to income increases, affordability of both diets has marginally improved since 2022, requiring 0.5–4.8% less household income. This study provides updated evidence that supports the urgent need for policies, interventions, and monitoring to widely assess and improve healthy diet affordability and decrease food insecurity rates. Possible solutions include increasing welfare rates above the poverty line and utilising nudge theory in grocery stores.

Keywords: diet affordability; food prices; food costs; food insecurity; Healthy Diets ASAP tool; INFORMAS (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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