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This content is taken from the Deakin University & Food & Mood Centre 's online course, Food and Mood: Improving Mental Health Through Diet and Nutrition. Join the course to learn more.
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## Deakin University

Making dietary changes can be a cheaper treatment for improving mental health than other options.

# The costs of dietary treatment

It’s a common belief that healthy diets are more expensive.

The perceived high cost is one of the most common barriers to healthy eating. Unfortunately, food marketing encourages this perception and a quick perusal of supermarket shelves will confirm this. Health sells, particularly when it’s wrapped in a shiny and well promoted dietary fad such as:

• activated nuts that cost 3 or 4 times more than a standard product;
• healthy foods that are considered so due to the marketing; and
• traditional or healthy diet formulations that are actually highly-processed food products.

Research tells a different story. During the SMILES trial, researchers conducted a detailed cost analysis of 20 participants before and after dietary changes to estimate the affordability of a healthier diet. The result was that the healthy diet cost less than the low quality diet.

This estimation showed that before the dietary change, participants spent on average AUD$138 each on food and beverages per week. In contrast, the recommended ModiMed diet cost AUD$112 per week, delivering savings of AUD$26 per week per person. It is important to note that the costing was conducted in a metropolitan area of Australia; therefore the results may not apply to other regions of Australia or the world. Despite this, the results show encouraging outcomes for eating well on a budget. Two factors will ensure that healthy dietary change is affordable: knowledge and preparation. Consider the following example: • An average price of dinner for one at one of the take-away-type restaurants in a metropolitan area of Australia is approximately AUD$12-$15 • A home-cooked dinner using the attached costed recipe (see ‘Downloads’ below) is approximately AUD$3.00 per serve.

### Dietary treatment is cost-effective

Both the SMILES trial and the HELFIMED trial conducted economic evaluations of the dietary treatment programs used to support individuals with depression. Both research trials demonstrated a significant financial savings due to a number of factors: lower costs of health care, food costs and less time ‘out of role’ (domestic duties).