The Economic Benefits Of Healthier Eating: Why Corporations Can Be Natural Allies To Promote Better Diets

Yet, we rarely consider the tremendous economic impact of our food choices. Suboptimal nutrition is the leading cause of poor health in the United States and globally, principally related to chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke, obesity, diabetes, and several cancers. In many nations, the costs of healthcare dwarf other programs in the national budget. In the United States, nearly 1 in 5 dollars in the entire economy is spent on healthcare, much of which is related to preventable, diet-related conditions. In developing economies around the world, the growing burdens of diet-related chronic diseases threaten to derail economic growth and increase risk of global recession. Over the next 20 years, chronic diseases are predicted to cause more than $30 trillion of cumulative economic losses worldwide, owing to excess healthcare spending, reduced productivity, and lost capital investments.