vegetables have a low social status and are considered to be food of the poor. A nutritious diet is more than twice as expensive as a diet meeting only energy requirements.

Policies and programs that stimulate the demand for healthy diets are critical in the context of Bangladesh and could spur greater production and consumption of healthier and nutritious foods. One of the main bottlenecks is the food environment; at least 12 percent of households could not afford even the lowest cost nutritious diet prior to the COVID-19 pandemic <mark>(Cabinet Division of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh and WFP 2019)</mark> . The cost of the nutritious diet increases substantially in pre-adolescence and is highest during adolescence for both girls and boys <mark>(Cabinet Division of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh and WFP 2019)</mark> . Creating demand for healthy diets and lifestyles requires a comprehensive life-cycle approach, targeting different age/gender groups with tailored messages and strategies by different stakeholders and platforms (private sector, public sector, media, messaging in schools). For instance, for the consumption of rice to decrease, behavioral change is required for the society, beyond consumers. This includes food producers, retailers, and the private sector (by producing alternatives and through media messaging). A national campaign for healthy diets would prompt behavior change. Social protection programs and schools are also important vehicles for delivery of nutritious food to vulnerable populations. The public sector can also influence both supply chains and dietary practices and preferences, for example through social safety nets and lower cost nutrient dense commodities such as fortified rice. Integration of social and behavior change communication as well as the use of incentives in social protection programs to nudge change towards healthy purchase and consumption behaviors have the potential to increase consumer demand and consumption of healthy foods.

Consumers, including the poorest, need to be empowered to demand and access nutritious foods, taking into consideration the sociocultural and community-related dynamics that influence consumption, in addition to the obvious driver, affordability. The private sector is often an underused resource but can be effectively leveraged to provide insights on how to design behavior change strategies and support national efforts to increase demand for healthy foods and trigger healthier food choices by consumers.

It is important to note that the affordability of the FBDG and EAT Lancet diets is most likely lower than that of current consumption since the modeled diets are more diverse and a more diverse diet is more costly than a diet with a relatively high amount of staples (Herforth et al. 2020, Bose et al. 2019, de Pee et al. 2021).

# **4.5 Limitations**

The comparison of nutrient intake has been made with adult men and this may underestimate the actual nutrient needs for some groups such as pregnant and breastfeeding women and women of reproductive age in general, who may have higher needs, in which case the gap compared to the recommended amount will be larger.

Using expenditure as a proxy for consumption may lead to underestimation or overestimation of actual consumption during the reference period. Households might consume stored foods like grains or foods they produced themselves. In the same vein, households might obtain foods 18