Adoption of healthy and sustainable diets in Mexico does not imply higher expenditure on food

The relative cost of healthy and sustainable diets is key for their adoption in different countries. Using a newly developed modelling tool that generates different diet baskets, we compared the costs of diets following the EAT–Lancet healthy reference diet, the Mexican dietary guidelines and locals’ current food intake. On average, the cost of the EAT–Lancet healthy reference diet baskets was 21% lower than that of the Mexican dietary guidelines baskets, and 40% lower than that of the current intake baskets (29% lower if the comparison was isocaloric). Findings were similar over time (2011–2018) and by geographic region. The higher cost associated with the larger amount of fruits, vegetables, legumes and nuts in healthy and sustainable diets was surpassed by the savings associated with their lower amount of animal protein sources, sugar-sweetened beverages and discretionary foods. We conclude that transitioning to better diets in Mexico is possible without a higher expenditure on food. Costs are often assumed to be a barrier to the adoption of healthier and more sustainable diets. A comparison of the EAT–Lancet healthy reference diet, national dietary guidelines and current food intake in Mexico reveals that better diets do not always imply higher food expenditures.