According to the UN, over the past five years, the cost of a healthy diet worldwide has risen by 25%, exceeding the extreme poverty threshold (defined as an income of less than $3.00 or €2.62 per day).
“As a result, 2.69 billion people—that is, nearly one in three people on the planet—still cannot afford a healthy diet,” said Máximo Torero Cullen, as reported by Euronews.
According to him, the cost of a healthy diet that fully meets the body’s nutritional needs currently averages $4.28 per person per day, taking into account differences in the cost of living between countries. This is above the extreme poverty line—the international standard for measuring absolute poverty, set at $3 (€2.62) per person per day.
Health Depends on Income
The bulk of the cost is not associated with obtaining enough calories, but with including nutrient-rich foods in the diet.
“Calories are relatively inexpensive,” Torero explained, “but high-quality nutrition is not.”
The staple foods that people consume daily—such as grains and root vegetables—provide most of the body’s daily caloric needs, yet account for only 13% of the cost of a healthy diet.
“By comparison, fruits and vegetables account for only 5% of calories but 16% of the cost. In other words, they are significantly more expensive than grains. And animal products account for nearly 30% of the total cost,” Torero noted.
Therefore, he said, the main challenge is to make nutrient-rich foods more affordable.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), unhealthy diets are one of the key factors contributing to the global burden of disease, particularly noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer.
Moldovans “prefer” bread
Moldovans traditionally consume between 90 and 120 kg of bread and baked goods per person per year. By comparison, in European Union countries, this figure is about 57 kg.
High bread consumption is primarily driven by economic necessity and low income levels, rather than solely by national traditions. This limits physical and economic access to a balanced and high-quality diet for broad segments of the population, according to the academic journal Open Academic.
Meat consumption in Moldova is about 37–53 kg per person per year, and fish consumption is about 16 kg, which is significantly below European standards. The average resident’s diet is overloaded with bread, sugar (about 22 kg per year), and vegetable oils. Consumption of fruits and vegetables is barely at the minimum WHO standards.
According to national studies and reports by independent experts (specifically, based on an analysis of the basic food basket), more than half of the population faces serious constraints in purchasing high-quality food. The bulk of their income goes toward basic needs, so high-quality protein sources (lean meat, fresh fish) and fresh vegetables remain an unaffordable luxury for many families year-round.
