The new food sub-component of the absolute poverty basket: an optimal balance of elements
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.71014/sieds.v78i4.407Abstract
The Inter Institutional Scientific Commission on Absolute Poverty (IISCAP) was established at the National Institute of Statistics (Istat) at the beginning of 2022 with the aim of confirming the validity of methodology used since 2005 and improving the models for estimating poverty incidence. Several issues were addressed, including the calculation of the new version of the sub-component of the food basket, using new data sources and considering changes in the habits and lifestyles of households in Italy. This new data allowed for a more realistic picture of the great variety of foods consumed by people and has facilitated enhancing the basket. The main objective of this study is to illustrate the new approach in calculating the food component. National and international guidelines were used to assess the nutritional adequacy of the dietary plans for 12 age groups, based on the Dietary Reference Values for energy and nutrients (DRVs) for a healthy Italian population. Categorization of foods into groups and subgroups enabled the merger of individual portions and consumption frequencies with those recommended by healthy eating guidelines. Daily quantities for each type of food were calculated by considering portions (in grams) and consumption frequencies (daily or weekly); then, twelve nutritionally balanced and appropriately diversified food plans were developed in accordance with the age groups considered. The last phase of defining the food sub-component concerned its valorization through the identification of the average minimum price for each food and the application of the saving scales to consider the economies of scale depending on the household composition.
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