title: Integrating food poverty and minimum cost diet methods into a single framework: a case study using a Nepalese household expenditure survey.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Current tools assessing affordability of nutritious diets are incomplete. "Food poverty" uses expenditure data to identify households unable to acquire a diet adequate in energy but does not consider other nutrients. The "minimum cost of a nutritious diet" method provides a threshold for purchasing a nutritious diet but must rely on other data to identify "nutrient-poor" households.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Integrating both methods into a single framework using a common data source, we sought to jointly estimate the proportions of a population that are food and nutrient poor.
  
  
  METHODS
  Household expenditure data from the 2010/11 Nepal Living Standards Survey were used, focusing on representative samples of households from the mountain region (n = 401) and Kathmandu (n = 857). Food poverty thresholds were set at the cost for a low-income household to purchase a basket of foods providing adequate energy following the Cost of Basic Need method. Linear optimization was used to calculate a "nutrient poverty" threshold. Household expenditures were used to determine food and nutrient poverty rates.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The food and nutrient poverty thresholds were 13,294 and 18,628 rupees/person/year, respectively, in the mountain region and 14,610 and 22,945 rupees/ person/year, respectively, in Kathmandu. In the mountain region, 34% of households were both food and nutrient poor and 24% were just nutrient poor. In Kathmandu the percentages were 7% and 14%, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This approach, integrating two commonly used tools, provides a more nuanced interpretation of economic access to a nutritious diet and an opportunity to improve the design and targeting of nutrition and food security interventions.
authors: Perrine
authors: P
authors: Geniez
authors: Astrid
authors: A
authors: Mathiassen
authors: Saskia
authors: S
authors: de Pee
authors: Nils
authors: N
authors: Grede
authors: Donald
authors: D
authors: Rose
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D004032:Diet / Q000191:economics*; D004041:Dietary Fats; D004044:Dietary Proteins; D002149:Energy Intake; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D005502:Food / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D018977:Micronutrients; D008875:Middle Aged; D009390:Nepal; D009753:Nutritive Value; D011203:Poverty / Q000191:economics*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
chemical_list: D004041:Dietary Fats; D004044:Dietary Proteins; D018977:Micronutrients