IMPACT OF ECONOMIC FACTORS ON THE DIETARY PATTERNS OF THE POPULATION

Abstract

Economic conditions are among the most important determinants of population nutrition, because food choice is shaped not only by medical knowledge or personal preference, but also by purchasing power, food prices, employment stability, market access, and social protection. The purpose of this article is to analyze how economic factors influence the dietary patterns of the population and to explain the mechanisms through which income, inflation, food affordability, and household budget constraints affect diet quality. The study was conducted as a narrative analytical review based on international reports, peer-reviewed scientific literature, and public health recommendations. The findings show that low income and high food prices usually lead households to reduce dietary diversity and replace nutrient-rich products such as meat, fish, dairy products, fruits, and vegetables with cheaper staple foods. This coping strategy may preserve daily energy intake in the short term, but it increases the risk of micronutrient deficiencies, excessive consumption of refined carbohydrates, and diet-related chronic diseases in the long term. Economic vulnerability affects children, pregnant women, elderly people, unemployed households, and rural families more severely, because their food budgets are more limited and more sensitive to price changes. The article concludes that improvement of population nutrition requires coordinated policies that combine income support, food price monitoring, subsidies for healthy foods, school nutrition programs, nutrition education, and regulation of unhealthy food environments. Economic development alone is not sufficient unless it is accompanied by measures that make healthy diets affordable, available, and socially acceptable for all groups of the population.