High prices for fresh fruits and vegetables are associated with higher Body Mass Index (BMI) in young children in low- and middle-income households, according to American University researchers in the journal Pediatrics.
“There is a small, but significant, association between the prices of fruit and vegetables and higher child BMI,” said Taryn Morrissey, the study’s lead author and assistant professor of public administration and policy at AU’s School of Public Affairs (SPA).
Morrissey said that when the prices of fruits and vegetables go up, families may buy less of them and substitute cheaper foods that may not be as healthy and have more calories.