Addressing the growing need for improved collection of
food consumption data, ERS established the Consumer Data
and Information Program (CDIP). See the full
report. Since the inception of CDIP in 2005,
investments in the program have enabled the collection
of data indicating how consumer behavior and market dynamics
shape diet quality and health outcomes. Under the CDIP
initiative, ERS has partnered with the National Center
for Health Statistics (NCHS) to gather and track information
on changing food habits, attitudes, and dietary behaviors
of U.S. consumers through a consumer behavior module in
the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).
NHANES collects a variety of health data on the U.S. population through household interviews and medical examinations conducted in-person at mobile examination centers. NHANES uses 24-hour dietary recalls to obtain information about what people eat, making it possible to link eating habits to such health outcomes as obesity, diabetes, and hypertension.
Flexible Consumer Behavior Survey
The ERS-sponsored module—the Flexible Consumer Behavior Survey (FCBS)—was added to the 2007-08 NHANES. Data from the 2007-08 FCBS module are forthcoming. A second round of FCBS is currently being fielded in the 2009-10 NHANES. The FCBS modules will help shed light on diet-health connections, especially in relation to nutrition assistance and education programs, food security monitoring, and obesity prevention.
The FCBS module consists of two components:
A core household interview component. The
core questions consist of economic variables (such as
family food expenditures, monthly income, and food and
nutrition assistance program participation), dietary
and behavioral indicators (such as self-assessed diet
quality, types of foods available in the home, and frequency
of eating out), and time spent shopping and cooking
meals at home. The core component collects data on a
continuous basis.
A followup telephone interview component.
The followup component is flexible by design, incorporating
topical and policy-oriented questions that will be fielded
every 2 to 4 years and then replaced with new questions.
The 2007-08 telephone followup component includes questions
on food label use, factors influencing grocery shopping,
reasons for dining out, use of nutrition information
in restaurants, and frequency of organic food purchases.
A subset of FCBS questions were included in the Diet
Behavior and Nutrition module of the 2005-06 NHANES, and
these data have been released for public use on the NCHS
website. ERS analyses of these data provide insight
into consumer assessment of diet quality and awareness
of Federal nutrition information programs.
Self-assessed Diet Quality
The 2005-06 NHANES Diet Behavior and Nutrition module
included the question, “How healthy is your overall
diet?” This question is designed to evaluate how
Americans assess their own diets, which, in turn, can
be linked to food intake data as well as other health
and behavioral indicators.
View responses to the question, “How healthy is your overall diet?” by selected demographic characteristics in the table below.
In response to the question “How healthy is your overall diet?”
Demographic
Excellent
Very good
Good
Fair
Poor
Percent
U.S. Population
9.1
23.6
39.8
21.3
6.2
Gender
Male
8.3
23.8
39.3
22.0
6.6
Female
9.9
23.5
40.3
20.5
5.8
Race/ethnicity
Mexican American
6.1
12.9
39.1
34.7
7.2
Hispanic
13.5
15.3
34.6
29.0
7.7
White
9.1
26.2
40.4
18.4
5.9
Black
8.4
18.1
36.5
28.8
8.2
Other
12.6
22.3
44.2
18.1
2.9
Age
20-39
5.9
19.3
40.4
26.6
7.9
40-54
7.9
22.9
40.5
22.0
6.8
55-64
14.5
25.5
39.6
16.2
4.3
Greater than 64
14.6
33.2
37.7
12.1
2.4
Education
Less than high school
8.3
16.6
38.9
28.2
8.0
High school
6.6
20.0
42.8
22.1
8.5
Some college
7.4
23.9
40.3
22.2
6.2
College and beyond
14.3
31.3
37.2
14.6
2.6
Income as percent of poverty level
Less than 130
10.0
19.1
37.0
25.8
8.1
130 – 300
8.5
20.4
42.2
21.7
7.2
Greater than 300
9.1
27.3
39.7
19.2
4.8
Source: 2005-06 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).
Federal Nutritional Information Program Awareness
Awareness of Federal nutrition information programs is crucial
for monitoring Americans’ understanding of what
constitutes a healthy diet. The Dietary Guidelines
for Americans and the accompanying nutrition education
tool Food Guide Pyramid (MyPyramid)
are mainstays in Federal nutrition outreach programs.
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View responses to the question, “Have you heard of The Dietary Guidelines for Americans? Food Guide Pyramid?” by selected demographic characteristics in the table below.
In response to the question “Have you heard of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans? The Food Guide Pyramid?”
Dietary Guidelines
Food Guide Pyramid
Demographic
Yes
No
Yes
No
Percent
Percent
U.S. Population
50.9
49.1
79.1
20.9
Gender
Male
43.9
56.1
72.9
27.1
Female
57.4
42.6
84.8
15.3
Race/ethnicity
Mexican American
21.7
78.3
52.0
48.0
Hispanic
38.2
61.9
61.6
38.4
White
57.3
42.7
86.1
13.9
Black
37.7
62.3
63.1
36.9
Other
44.1
55.9
69.8
30.2
Age
20-39
44.9
55.2
83.6
16.4
40-54
59.5
40.5
81.7
18.3
55-64
55.0
45.1
75.7
24.3
Greater than 64
45.0
55.0
66.4
33.6
Education
Less than high school
25.0
75.0
49.5
50.5
High school
43.0
57.0
75.0
25.0
Some college
56.4
43.6
87.0
13.0
College and beyond
69.6
30.4
93.4
6.6
Income as percent of poverty level
Less than 130
35.7
64.3
63.9
36.1
130 – 300
43.9
56.1
74.2
25.8
Greater than 300
60.8
39.2
87.8
12.2
Source: 2005-06 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).
Food Away From Home Frequency
The frequency of meals purchased from fast food and full-service
restaurants (food away from home) can be used as an indicator
of the quality of the American diet. New to the NHANES,
this question allows a better understanding of the number
of meals Americans are consuming away from their homes.
View responses to the question, “How many meals per week do you get that were not prepared at home?” by selected demographic characteristics in the table below.
In response to the question “How many meals per week do you get that were not prepared at home?”
Demographic
Never
Less than once
1 or 2
3 to 7
Greater than 7
Percent
U.S. Population
7.0
10.6
33.5
36.9
12.0
Gender
Male
6.0
9.3
29.1
39.6
16.0
Female
8.0
11.9
37.5
34.4
8.3
Race/ethnicity
Mexican American
11.3
12.0
40.1
29.5
7.1
Hispanic
4.2
18.1
47.2
25.5
5.0
White
6.1
9.1
32.7
38.9
13.3
Black
9.8
14.0
30.9
35.4
9.9
Other
9.4
16.6
31.8
32.0
10.2
Age
20-39
4.7
7.4
33.2
40.5
14.3
40-54
6.3
9.1
30.7
39.9
14.0
55-64
7.9
11.0
33.4
37.5
10.2
Greater than 64
12.9
20.4
39.4
23.0
4.4
Education
Less than high school
13.5
15.9
38.9
26.4
5.4
High school
8.2
11.6
33.6
37.3
9.3
Some college
5.2
10.2
32.4
40.4
11.8
College and beyond
3.6
6.6
31.0
39.5
19.3
Income as percent of poverty level
Less than 130
14.3
19.2
33.9
24.8
7.8
130 – 300
8.2
12.2
36.2
35.1
8.3
Greater than 300
3.5
6.3
31.8
42.8
15.7
Source: 2005-06 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).
