Healthy basket: to eat well, a type family must spend $ 924 a day

Martín Grosz

02/27/2020 - 17:13

• Clarín.com
• Society

INDEC said that in January - last available data - a type family could eat the basics with $ 16,479 , equivalent to $ 531 a day . But he calculated this by taking as a reference a food and beverage basket that nutritionists agree to consider unbalanced, obesogenic and barely surviving. If what is intended, however, is to follow the diet recommended by the Ministry of Health - rich in dairy, fruits, vegetables and lean meats -, it is necessary to have a 62% higher budget.

To eat healthy, during February, a marriage with two school-age children needed $ 26,788. The amount is, on average, about $ 924 per day or $ 231 per day for each of the four people, considering current market prices.

This was concluded by a survey that Clarín agreed to, carried out in shops in the City of Buenos Aires by the Center for Studies on Food Economics and Economics (CEPEA) and the Department of Economics of the UBA School of Nutrition.

What this Healthy Food Basket foresees is an intensive consumption of foods considered of "high nutritional quality": dairy (with three servings per person per day); fruits (350 g); vegetables (350 g); various meats and eggs (150 g); legumes, whole grains and semolina pasta (90 g); and oils (30 cc).

Of the "intermediate quality" products, such as common cereals, bread, potatoes, sweet potatoes and corn, includes only 100 grams per day per person. And no more than two servings (300 kcal) for all “low quality” foods, which are recommended only for occasional consumption because of their low intake of essential nutrients or having too many sugars and fats, such as sweets, sweet cookies, drinks sugary, cold cuts and more.

To follow this ideal diet, as revealed, a type family had to allocate this month $ 8,750 only for dairy products , which are the heaviest item and take 33% of the budget. In fruits and vegetables another $ 5,221 (20%) goes and in meats and eggs, $ 4,955 (18%).

The same Healthy Basket, in November, was worth about $ 23,378 for the family. Thus, in just three months, the cost of a healthy diet hit a jump of 14.6%.

"You have to keep in mind that the November data internalizes the VAT withdrawal that was in force then and not now," the researchers explained. They also clarified that the survey, although "very careful in the methodological", is not intended to be as representative as that of Indec.

In this sample, in the last three months, the lowest quality foods were the least expensive: 7.3%. Those of intermediate quality increased by 12.8%. And those of high quality, that is, the most recommended, suffered the greatest adjustment: 16.4%.