What linear programming contributes: world food programme experience with the "cost of the diet" tool

Area of Science:

• Operations Research
• Nutritional Science
• Public Health

Background:

• Linear programming (LP) is a valuable tool for analyzing dietary patterns and optimizing nutrient intake.
• Previous applications of LP include assessing complementary feeding diets and estimating the economic value of fortified foods.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe and apply the "Cost of the Diet" LP tool using data from Mozambique.
• To determine cost-effective food fortification strategies for the Mozambican population.

Main Methods:

• Utilized household dietary needs, seasonal food prices, and food composition data.
• Estimated the lowest-cost diet meeting nearly all nutrient requirements.
• Compared diet costs with population expenditure data to assess affordability across different income quintiles.

Main Results:

• Identified iron, vitamin B2 (riboflavin), and pantothenic acid as limiting nutrients.
• Vegetable oil emerged as a more cost-efficient vehicle for vitamin A fortification than sugar.
• Multiple micronutrient fortification of maize flour could reduce the lowest-cost nutritious diet by 18%, but remains unaffordable for 80% of the population.

Conclusions:

• Linear programming effectively identifies nutrient inadequacies and compares the cost-effectiveness of fortification interventions.
• The study highlights the potential of fortification to improve household access to nutritious diets.
• Significant economic barriers to accessing nutritious diets persist for the majority of the Mozambican population.