A comprehensive analysis of the least-cost healthy diets across China from 2012 to 2023

A comprehensive analysis of the least-cost healthy diets across China from 2012 to 2023 | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article A comprehensive analysis of the least-cost healthy diets across China from 2012 to 2023 Yan Bai, Xiaotian Liu, Hongyi Cai, Fan Chen, Anna Herforth, William Masters, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9273553/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract In China, shifting dietary patterns have coincided with persistent nutrient deficiencies and rising overweight and obesity, underscoring the need to promote healthy diets. This study evaluates the cost and affordability of diets aligned with four food-based dietary guidelines—the 2022 and 2016 Chinese Dietary Guidelines, the Healthy Diet Basket, and the EAT-Lancet reference diet—using nationally representative retail price data from 2012 to 2023, and assesses the nutrient adequacy and environmental implications of these least-cost diets. Nominal diet costs increased over time but grew more slowly than the food consumer price index, and real costs remained relatively stable. Affordability improved with economic growth but remains uneven across provinces and between urban and rural areas. Diets following the 2022 Chinese Dietary Guidelines, which include higher dairy recommendations, tend to be less affordable than other benchmarks. Nutrient adequacy can largely be achieved, with comparable environmental footprints. These findings highlight the importance of considering economic, nutritional, and environmental factors in dietary guideline design, and of using standardized approaches to ensure consistent and policy-relevant measurement of diet costs and affordability. Scientific community and society/Social sciences/Interdisciplinary studies Scientific community and society/Social sciences/Economics Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files supplementaryMaterial.pdf A comprehensive analysis of the least-cost healthy diets across China from 2012 to 2023 Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9273553","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":631988093,"identity":"31b07614-dc01-495e-832a-f54e50347700","order_by":0,"name":"Yan 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