The Cost of a Healthy Diet

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The Cost of a Healthy Diet

In her much-loved song, Jailer, Asa likens everyone who has some form of fear to a prisoner, whether they are inmates or not.

When it comes to the economy, especially food prices, the majority of Nigerians are held in this prison of fear, whether they are members of the political class or the proletariat.

In a way, “we are all just prisoners here of our own device”, in the words of Majek Fashek’s sample of Hotel California.

Inmate Fears

Have you ever thought about how much it costs to eat healthy each day?

Well, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows that for December 2023, the national average Cost of a Healthy Diet for (CoHD) adults is N786 per day, excluding the cost of transportation and meal preparation.

This is just slightly above the daily cost of feeding inmates in Nigeria’s Correctional Centres as of December 2023. 

“The Controller General of the NCoS, Haliru Nababa had before Senator Adams Oshiomhole openly admitted that they have a budget of N800 per dog daily, while humans individually have meals worth N750 each day,” The Guardian reported last December.

The NBS identified at least two major users of the CoHD estimates. One is for policy makers, and the other is for the individual’s choices on healthy living. 

“The Cost of a Healthy Diet was developed as a tool for policymaking and planning,” the NBS noted. It added that the “Food-based dietary guidelines serve the purpose of helping individuals identify and plan a healthy diet” 

On the policy side, this may be cheery news to Nigerians residing in correctional centres around the country. On demand from inmates, warders who cater to their feeding may attempt the NBS template to ensure they provide healthy diets from the meagre amounts allocated to the inmates.

The Cost of a Healthy Diet (CoHD) is the least expensive amount needed to procure a combination of locally available items that meets globally consistent food-based dietary guidelines.

The CoHD is used as a measure of physical and economic access to healthy diets. The fear is: will warders provide these healthy diets to Nigerians residing in Custodial Centre whether for good or bad reasons?

Individual Fears

Other Nigerians have their own fears too. This concerns the high food prices and the accompanying high food inflation rate.  

Between December 2022 and 2023, the average cost of a healthy diet per day increased by N313, from N473 to N786. The December 2023 CoHD is the highest in the 13 months reviewed.  

The NBS reported that in December 2023, the average CoHD was highest in the South West at N979 per adult per day, compared to N663 per adult per day in North West. 

In recent months, the CoHD has risen faster than general inflation and food inflation.

Source: NBS  

The official data bureau cautioned that the CoHD and the food CPI are not directly comparable because the CoHD considered fewer items and is measured in Naira per day, while the food CPI is a weighted index.  

This increase in the cost of a healthy diet means that more people may not be able to afford a healthy diet, especially when transportation and preparation costs are added.

However, the costs differ across the 6 geo-political zones. The southern parts spend more to consume a healthy diet daily compared to the North.

Between October and December 2023, the cost of a healthy diet in the North did not exceed N700 compared to the South. In December, the South West pay the highest cost of a healthy diet per day while the North West pay the lowest. 

Similarly, 16 out of the 36 states and the FCT recorded cost of a healthy diet that is higher than the national average of N786 while 21 other states paid less for the same proportion.

Interestingly, all the states that paid less for the cost of a healthy diet are in the north except for Delta State.

However, if you find yourself spending more on food than what the least healthy diet costs in your state, you can consider evaluating your purchasing habits.

You can look into buying cheaper food items that still allow you to consume all recommended food groups or reducing your expenses on non-recommended foods, such as salty snacks and sugary items. Additionally, consider changing the market where you buy your food, as it may help you achieve lower costs.