Peer reviewed / Manuscript (original) submitted: 12 June 2025; revision accepted: 22 August 2025
Potential and limitations
Introduction
Climate change is one of the most pressing issues of our time [1]. Global food production is the single largest contributor to exceeding planetary boundaries [2]. At the same time, more and more people in Western economies are suffering from obesity and the resulting health problems [3]. These health problems attributable to obesity place a considerable financial burden on healthcare systems. In Switzerland, public healthcare expenditure due to high body mass index (BMI) was US$5.9 billion, and in Germany it was US$31.8 billion [4].
Studies show that people with a lower level of education and unemployed people are more likely to be overweight than people with a high level of education or those in employment [5, 6]. The proportion of people with obesity is 3.9 percentage points higher among the unemployed than among those in employment. One obvious explanation would be that a healthy and sustainable diet is not feasible for low-income households [7]. This article therefore addresses the question of under what conditions a sustainable and healthy diet is possible for low-income households. …
Abstract
The implementation of a healthy and sustainable diet such as the Planetary Health Diet (PHD) is becoming increasingly relevant in light of ecological and health challenges. At the same time, there is frequent discussion in society about the practical implementation of such a diet, especially for low-income households. This article examines whether a diet based on the PHD is financially feasible for families affected by low-income in Germany (based on citizen’s income) and Switzerland (based on social welfare) and what other factors influence its implementation. To this end, a price calculation was made based on a weekly plan from the Klimatopf cookbook, and a practical test was carried out to assess its suitability for everyday use. The results show that financial feasibility is given. However, the time required for implementation is a major obstacle. Aspects such as nutritional competence and willingness to implement were not considered in the study yet appear to be relevant.
