Rising food prices in the United States are making it harder for Americans to maintain a healthy diet, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey that highlights the growing challenge of nutritious eating amidst persistent inflation. With 90% of American adults acknowledging that the cost of healthy food has climbed in recent years, and nearly 70% saying these prices are directly impacting their ability to eat well, the survey reveals an urgent national health concern that has ripple effects far beyond US borders, including in Thailand.
This issue is deeply significant as it signals a shift in global dietary patterns and economic pressures that resonate with Thai society, where similar challenges of balancing nutrition and affordability increasingly arise, especially in urban areas and among low-income households. As rising prices narrow food choices, the risk of chronic health conditions—already rising worldwide—becomes even more pronounced.
The Pew survey of over 5,100 adults conducted between February and March 2025 found that those on fixed or lower incomes were disproportionately affected: 47% of these respondents reported difficulty affording healthy meals, compared to only 15% of upper-income counterparts. “It is a bigger challenge for lower-income adults, but it’s not as if the middle- and upper-income Americans are completely spared,” explained the director of science and society research at Pew, emphasizing that even higher-income groups feel the pinch of surging grocery costs (CNN).
One contributor to the growing crisis is the continued reliance on animal-based foods, such as meat and dairy, which are among the more expensive items in Western diets. Dr. David Katz, a preventive and lifestyle medicine specialist and founder of the True Health Initiative, pointed out that “beans and lentils are stunningly nutritious, and very economical. Cooking grains are highly nutritious and economical as well.” He added that greater use of plant-based foods and drinking water, instead of sugar-sweetened beverages, could improve diet quality while lowering costs. “The impediment is not prices, but food label literacy,” Dr. Katz noted.
Poor diet remains a leading cause of death in the US, with more than one million Americans dying each year from diet-related diseases like obesity, cancer, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes. The economic toll is also staggering: unhealthy diets and food insecurity cost the US an estimated $1.1 trillion annually in healthcare and lost productivity. Despite this, nearly 60% of Americans rate their diets as “somewhat healthy,” a figure that Dr. Katz questions: “Americans’ ability to report the quality of their diet is highly suspect. We do not rely on people to ‘guesstimate’ their own blood pressure; we should not be expecting them to ‘guesstimate’ their diet quality either.”
Eating habits also influence perceptions of dietary health. Those who ate most of their meals at home were significantly more likely to rate their diets as extremely or very healthy, while only 12% of frequent restaurant diners said the same. The lure of taste was paramount for most Americans—83% said it was the most important factor in choosing food, overshadowing cost and healthiness. This preference has contributed to the proliferation of ultra-processed foods, which often combine sugar, salt, fat, and additives to appeal to consumers. Today, some 71% of the American food supply consists of ultra-processed items, according to a 2019 study (FAO).
Experts consistently warn that high ultraprocessed food consumption raises the risk of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, certain cancers, and even depression, as documented across numerous studies. In contrast, adopting a plant-based diet, such as the Mediterranean diet, can significantly improve health at any age. Dr. Frank Hu, professor and chair of nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, explained, “It’s never too late to adopt healthy eating patterns, and the benefits can be substantial in terms of reducing total premature deaths and different causes of premature death.” He emphasized, “People have a lot of flexibility in creating their own healthy dietary pattern, but the common principles—eating more plant-based foods and fewer servings of red meat, processed meats, added sugar, and sodium—should be there, no matter what kind of diet you want to create.”
The US experience offers several insights for Thailand. As food prices have also risen domestically, especially in the wake of global supply chain disruptions and climate impacts on agriculture, many Thai households are likewise struggling to maintain a balanced diet. Traditional Thai diets—rich in vegetables, rice, fish, and home-cooked dishes—are increasingly supplanted by processed snacks and sugary drinks, especially among young people in urban centers. This shift, coupled with aggressive marketing of processed foods, mirrors the American trajectory and points to potential rises in non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Thailand (Ministry of Public Health, WHO Thailand).
Crucially, the Thai context also affirms the importance of home-cooked meals and food literacy. In many rural provinces, cooking at home with fresh produce remains common, shielding some communities from the worst effects of food price inflation and processed food marketing. However, urbanization and lifestyle shifts continue to erode these practices, especially among younger generations. Nutritionists affiliated with leading Thai universities have called for greater investment in public health campaigns to promote food label literacy, awareness about healthy eating, and support for local produce markets to keep healthy options affordable.
Looking ahead, rising food prices and the global spread of processed convenience foods threaten to make healthy eating less attainable for millions, unless governments, food producers, and communities work together to make nutritious options both desirable and affordable. In Thailand, this means revitalizing food education in schools, supporting local farmers, and encouraging home-cooked meals rooted in the national culinary tradition. Policies such as clear food labeling—like Thailand’s “Healthier Choice” symbol—combined with subsidies for fruits and vegetables, could help bridge the affordability gap.
Thai readers should be mindful of these trends and take practical steps to protect their health: prioritize home-cooked meals, opt for vegetables and whole grains, read food labels carefully, and limit processed snacks and sugary drinks. By drawing on traditional Thai dietary wisdom and supporting fresh food markets, families can buffer themselves from global shocks in food pricing while preserving their wellbeing.
For further information, see CNN’s coverage and data from Pew Research Center, FAO, US CDC, and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.