Going on a special weight-loss diet can cost up to $600 a week.
Special supplements, low-carb replacements and high-protein substitutes all eat into your wallet, say researchers from the University of South Australia.
They assessed the costs of seven meal plans—including low-carb and keto diets—and discovered the extra weekly shop varied from $345 to $625. Following a healthy Mediterranean diet, and its emphasis on fresh vegetables and fruit, oils and nuts, would be just as effective and cost considerably less, the researchers said.
“There tends to be a misconception that consuming a healthy diet is too expensive, when it really is not,” said Karen Murphy, one of the researchers.
Around two-thirds of Australians are overweight, and many turn to special diets to help them shed the pounds. But the special products the diets demand are expensive, and can make up around 13 percent of disposable income, the researchers estimate.
(Source: BMC Public Health, 2022; 22: doi: 10.1186/s12889-021-12447-4)
