Monetary Diet Cost, Diet Quality, and Parental Socioeconomic Status in Spanish Youth.
BACKGROUND
Using a food-based analysis, healthy dietary patterns in adults are more expensive than less healthy ones; studies are needed in youth. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to determine relationships between monetary daily diet cost, diet quality, and parental socioeconomic status.


METHODS
Data were obtained from a representative national sample of 3534 children and young people in Spain, aged 2 to 24 years. Dietary assessment was performed with a 24-hour recall. Mediterranean diet adherence was measured by the KIDMED questionnaire. Average food cost was calculated from official Spanish government data. Monetary daily diet cost was expressed as euros per day (€/d) and euros per day standardized to a 1000kcal diet (€/1000kcal/d).


RESULTS
Mean monetary daily diet cost was 3.16±1.57€/d (1.56±0.72€/1000kcal/d). Socioeconomic status was positively associated with monetary daily diet cost and diet quality measured by the KIDMED index (€/d and €/1000kcal/d, p<0.019). High Mediterranean diet adherence (KIDMED score 8-12) was 0.71 €/d (0.28€/1000kcal/d) more expensive than low compliance (KIDMED score 0-3). Analysis for nonlinear association between the KIDMED index and monetary daily diet cost per1000kcal showed no further cost increases beyond a KIDMED score of 8 (linear p<0.001; nonlinear p = 0.010).


CONCLUSIONS
Higher monetary daily diet cost is associated with healthy eating in Spanish youth. Higher socioeconomic status is a determinant for higher monetary daily diet cost and quality.
Cardiovascular Risk and Nutrition Research Group (CARIN), IMIM (Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute), Barcelona, Spain.|CIBER Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
Helmut
H
Schröder
Cardiovascular Risk and Nutrition Research Group (CARIN), IMIM (Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute), Barcelona, Spain.|AQuAS / ASPCAT, Departament de Salut, Generalitat de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain.|PhD Programme in Biomedicine, Universidad Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain.
Santiago F
SF
Gomez
Fundación para la Investigación Nutricional (Nutrition Research Foundation), Barcelona, Spain.|CIBER Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition (CIBEROBN), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
Lourdes
L
Ribas-Barba
FIDEC Foundation, University of the Basque Country, Bilbao, Spain.
Carmen
C
Pérez-Rodrigo
Cardiovascular Risk and Nutrition Research Group (CARIN), IMIM (Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute), Barcelona, Spain.
Rowaedh Ahmed
RA
Bawaked
Cardiovascular Risk and Nutrition Research Group (CARIN), IMIM (Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute), Barcelona, Spain.|CIBER Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition (CIBEROBN), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
Montserrat
M
Fíto
Fundación para la Investigación Nutricional (Nutrition Research Foundation), Barcelona, Spain.|CIBER Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition (CIBEROBN), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.|Reseach Institute of Biomedical and Health Sciences, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain.
Lluis
L
Serra-Majem
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet / Q000191:economics* / Q000592:standards; D005260:Female; D005502:Food / Q000191:economics; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009752:Nutritional Status; D010290:Parents; D012923:Social Class; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult