Linear programming analysis of constraints upon human diets

This paper applies linear programming cost-minimisation models to the analysis of human diets. The models incorporate considerations of nutritional and non-nutritional factors in diet choice in order to assess the impact of adopting dietary guidelines upon the cost of nutrition-only and palatable diets. The dual prices yielded by the models are used to estimate the total cost of meeting requirements for separate nutrients in diets for different population groups. Sensitivity analysis is then used to derive marginal cost curves for changes in the supply of nutrients covered by the dietary guidelines. The cost and composition of ‘healthy’ human diets contrast markedly with the results of past studies and indicate that economic constraints upon dietary guideline adoption are limited.