An article in The Journal of Nutrition assesses the relative caloric prices for different food categories across 176 countries and finds that prices vary systematically across countries and partially explain international differences in the prevalences of undernutrition and overweight adults. In an IFPRI blog post, the paper’s authors—IFPRI Senior Research Fellows Derek Headey and Harold Alderman—note that as countries develop, their food systems get better at providing healthier foods cheaply, but they also get better at providing unhealthier foods cheaply. They warn that the high price of healthy food and the low price of unhealthy food puts a dual challenge to poor people in developing countries.
Additional highlights from this week’s Compact2025 News in Brief include:
- A National Information Platforms for Nutrition (NIPN) report (synthesis in English; comprehensive report in Spanish) analyzes Guatemala’s progress in implementing multisectoral strategies for stunting reduction and prevention of chronic malnutrition.
- New study finds that even under optimistic socioeconomic scenarios, future fruit and vegetable production will be insufficient to achieve recommended levels of consumption in many countries.
- World Breastfeeding Week takes place August 1–7 and focuses on the theme of “Empower Parents, Enable Breastfeeding” in 2019.
