Neuravnotežena prehrana je eden izmed glavnih dejavnikov tveganja za zdravje, saj lahko vpliva na razvoj in napredovanje kroničnih nenalezljivih boleznih (KNB), na povišano telesno maso oz. debelost in tudi na hranilno podhranjenost. Na neustrezne prehranske izbire naj bi imela največji vpliv cena hrane, kar je še posebej opazno pri socialno šibkejših. Slovenske raziskave kažejo, da je prehrana prebivalcev neustrezna oz. nezdrava, zato je bil namen naše raziskave oblikovati slovensko prehransko košarico (PK) na stroškovno učinkovit način, ki bi pomagala ohranjati zdravje, preprečiti pomanjkanje posameznih mikrohranil in bila istočasno kulturno in cenovno sprejemljiva, še posebej za ljudi z nižjimi dohodki. PK smo oblikovali z metodo linearnega programiranja (LP) in v sestavo PK vključili živila, ki so pogosto del prehrane Slovencev. S pomočjo LP smo izdelali pet PK za štiričlansko družino, pri katerih smo upoštevali Referenčne vrednosti za vnos hranil (2004), slovenske smernice in prehranske navade Slovencev. Ugotovili smo, da je najbolj poceni (2,38 €/dan) PK, ki upošteva le priporočila slovenskih smernic, sledi ji kulturno sprejemljiva PK, ki upošteva prehranske navade Slovencev (6,33 €/dan), vendar z obema ne zadostimo potrebam po vseh hranilih. Naslednja je hranilno zadostna PK, ki upošteva referenčne vrednosti in stane 6,92 €/dan, vendar z njo ne zadostimo potrebam po vitaminu D. Malenkost dražja (7,28 €/dan) je PK, ki upošteva referenčne vrednosti in slovenske smernice, toda tudi z njo ne dosežemo priporočil za vitamin D. Najdražja je PK, ki upošteva prehranske navade Slovencev in referenčne vrednosti. Cena takšne PK znaša 18,36 €/dan in z njo pokrijmo potrebe po vseh mikro- in makrohranilih. Kot eno izmed možnih prilagoditev smo izdelali še redukcijsko PK za žensko staro 25-51 let in ugotovili, da cena takšne PK, za eno osebo, znaša 4,67 €/dan in z njo zadostimo čisto vsem priporočilom. Izdelava PK z metodo LP lahko olajša razvoj nacionalnih prehranskih priporočil na stroškovno učinkovit način. Potrebno je le še raziskati kako priporočila o zdravem prehranjevanju najbolj učinkovito implementirali med populacijo.One of the main health risks today is the unbalanced diet. It can influence the progression of non-communicable diseases (NCD), obesity and even micronutrient deficiencies. The price of food is supposed to have the one of the biggest influences on the food that people buy, especially for people with low socio-economic status. In addition, studies show that diet of Slovenians is inappropriate and unhealthy and due to these facts, the main aim of our study was to construct a low-cost and at the same time nutritious Slovenian food basket (FB) that would help maintain the health of population, prevent lack of certain micronutrients but at the same time be culturally and economically acceptable, especially for people with lower income. The FBs were built using Linear Programming (LP). The foods included in FBs were chosen according to the eating habits of Slovenians. We constructed five FBs for a four member family, at which we considered Slovenian dietary guidelines (SDG), eating habits of Slovenians and recommendations for nutrient intake. Our results show that the cheapest FB is the FB that considers only SDG (2.38€), a bit more expensive FB is the one following eating habits of Slovenians (6.33€), but both of them do not meet all nutrient recommendations. Next in line is the FB that follows recommendations for nutrient intake (6.92€), but it does not satisfy recommendation for vitamin D. This is also seen in FB that considers SDG and recommendations for nutrient intake (7.28€/day). The most expensive FB, with 18.36€/day, is the one that takes into account recommendations for nutrient intake and the Slovenian eating habits. This FB covers all micro- and macronutrients. As one of the possible adjustments we constructed a reduction FB for women aged 25-51 years. The price of such FB for one person was 4.67€/day, and it meets all recommendations for nutrient intake. The process of building a FB using LP can help develop cost efficient national food recommendations. What still needs to be explored is how to implement the recommendations of healthy eating habits among the Slovenian population
