General Readings
Who eats what and where—ERS
keeps track of the supply of food available in the United
States and examines consumer preferences by age, income,
region, race, whether people eat at home or away, and
other characteristics. Because such analyses proved useful
to marketers, the concept was expanded to include a wide
variety of food. The most recent analysis for carrots
indicates that per capita carrot consumption is greatest
in the East and Central regions of the U.S. About 80 percent
of fresh-market carrots are purchased at retail and consumed
at home, with the majority consisting of fresh-cut (including
baby) carrots. Per capita use of fresh carrots is strongest
among Asians, with per capita use of both fresh and frozen
carrots greatest among upper income households.
See Who Eats What and Where.
Price Trends Are Similar
for Fruits, Vegetables, and Snack Foods—An increase
in the price of fruits and vegetables relative to less
healthy foods could reduce consumers' incentives to purchase
fruits and vegetables and result in less healthful diets.
For commonly consumed fresh fruits and vegetables for
which quality has remained fairly constant, analysis of
price trends reveals a price decline similar to that of
dessert and snack foods. This price trend evidence suggests
that the price of a healthy diet has not changed relative
to an unhealthy one (March 2008).
The U.S. Grain
Consumption Landscape: Who Eats Grain, in What Form, Where,
and How Much?—This study compared Americans’
consumption of grains with the recommendations in the
Government’s 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans,
using data from USDA’s Continuing Survey of Food
Intakes by Individuals, 1994-96 and 1998. The analysis
confirmed a national preference for refined grains—only
7 percent of survey respondents met the 2005 whole-grain
recommendation. The results suggest that consumers who
perceive grain consumption as important and read food
labels during shopping tend to eat more whole grains than
other people (November 2007).
Could Behavioral Economics
Help Improve Diet Quality for Nutrition Assistance Program Participants?— Behavioral economics, food marketing,
and psychology are used to identify possible options for
improving the diets and health of participants in the
Food Stamp Program, the Special Supplemental Nutrition
Program for Women, Infants and Children, and the National
School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs (June 2007).
Who Has Time To Cook? How
Family Resources Influence Food Preparation—Households
participating in the Food Stamp Program are increasingly
headed by a single parent or two working parents. As this
trend continues, more low-income households may find it
difficult to allocate the time needed to prepare meals
that fit within a limited budget and meet dietary requirements.
ERS analysis of the 2003-04 American Time Use Survey found
that household time resources significantly affect how
much time is allocated to preparing food (May 2007).
U.S. Fruit and Vegetable Consumption—Increasing Americans’ consumption of fruits and vegetables has been a mainstay of Federal dietary guidance for more than a decade. Yet, U.S. consumption of healthful foods still does not meet dietary recommendations. To better understand the reasons behind this shortfall, ERS researchers examined economic and behavioral influences on fruit and vegetable choices. A series of research briefs highlight major findings and provide a list of ERS publications on U.S. fruit and vegetable consumption (November 2004).
The Role of Economics
in Eating Choices and Weight Outcomes—This report
uses data from the USDA's 1994-96 Continuing Survey of
Food Intakes by Individuals and the 1994-96 Diet and Health
Knowledge Survey to ascertain whether economic factors
help explain weight differences among adults. An economic
framework helps explain how socioeconomic factors affect
an individual's ability to achieve good health. Our results
suggest that income, household composition, and formal
education help explain variation in behaviors and attitudes
that are significantly associated with weight outcomes
(October 2004).
What
Determines the Variety of a Household's Vegetable Purchases?—USDA
encourages people to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables
through the Food Guide Pyramid and participation in the
national 5 A Day Partnership. To assist these efforts,
ERS researchers have investigated the factors that influence
the purchase of vegetables and identified obstacles to
attaining variety (October 2004).
How Much Do Americans
Pay for Fruits and Vegetables?—This analysis
uses ACNielsen Homescan data on 1999 household food purchases
from all types of retail outlets to estimate an annual
retail price per pound and per serving for 69 forms of
fruits and 85 forms of vegetables. Findings show that
consumers can meet the recommendation of three servings
of fruits and four servings of vegetables daily for 64
cents (July 2004).
Low-Income Households'
Expenditures on Fruits and Vegetables—Americans'
consumption of fruits and vegetables falls short of recommended
levels. Low-income households, however, consume even lower
amounts than other households. On average, low-income
households spent $3.59 per capita per week on fruits and
vegetables in 2000 while higher income households spent
$5.02—a statistically significant difference. Findings
also suggest that low-income households will allocate
an additional dollar of income to other food or nonfood
items, other than fruits and vegetables, such as meat,
clothing, or housing, deemed more essential to the household.
A two-page Research
Brief
highlights the report's findings (May 2004).
Food and
Agricultural Commodity Consumption in the United States:
Looking Ahead to 2020—U.S. consumption of food
commodities is projected to rise through the year 2020,
mainly due to an increase in population. But the mix of
commodities is expected to shift because of an older and
more diverse population, rising income, higher educational
attainment, improved diet and health knowledge, and the
growing popularity of eating out. This study analyzes
data from USDA’s food consumption survey to project
the consumption of 25 food groups and 22 food commodity
groups through 2020. Per capita consumption of fish, poultry,
eggs, yogurt, fruits, nuts and seeds, lettuce, tomatoes,
some other vegetables, grains, and vegetable oils is predicted
to rise, whereas consumption of beef, pork, other meat,
milk, cheese, potatoes, and sugar is expected to fall.
Fruit consumption is expected to lead all commodities
in growth in the at-home market, and fish consumption
is expected to lead in growth in the away-from-home market
(February 2003).
Are
Americans Turning Away From Lower Fat Salty Snacks? —Although
sales of regular versions of potato chips, pretzels, and
microwave popcorn increased 11 percent from 1995 to 1999,
sales of lower fat versions of the same salty snacks dropped
6 percent in the same period. Sales of lower fat potato
chips rose during 1995-98 mostly due to high sales of
fat-free Olean products. Lower fat versions of pretzels
and microwave popcorn, however, dropped significantly.
New product introductions of reduced- and low-fat products,
including salty snacks, also fell off, from 1,914 in 1995
to 481 in 1999 (December 2002).
 Consumer-Driven
Agriculture—Tomorrow's America will be bigger,
wealthier, better educated, more ethnically diverse, and
older. These changes may be subtle from day to day but
over time will transform the Nation into an intrinsically
different place. ERS engaged in a major research effort
to study what America's food system may look like in the
year 2020 in this issue of FoodReview. There's
also a related Amber
Waves article
on the topic (May 2002).
Household Food Spending
by Selected Demographics in the 1990s—Per person
food expenditures, adjusted for inflation, fell from $2,189
in 1990 to $2,037 in 1998, about 7 percent. Price-adjusted
food spending reflects changes in the real price of food
and quantity purchased, but the national average masks
the fact that some population subgroups spent significantly
more or less on food than average. For example, while
food spending declined for all demographic groups except
female-headed and Black households, these two groups still
had the lowest per capita spending. In contrast, per capita
food spending was greatest for households in the highest
income quintile, for one-person households, and for households
with heads ages 55-64 (August 2001).
 Food Spending in American
Households—Average yearly spending on food in
urban households changed little between 1997 and 1998.
The typical household spent $1,767 per person in 1997
versus $1,773 in 1998. Of this amount, $1,126 was spent
on food eaten at home and $641 on food eaten away from
home. In 1998, slightly less, $1,094, was spent on food
at home and slightly more, $679, on food away from home.
Detailed tabulations are presented for 133 food categories
and 10 household socioeconomic characteristics for 1997
and 1998. The data are from the Consumer Expenditure Diary
Surveys prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S.
Department of Labor (June 2001).
America's Eating Habits:
Changes and Consequences—Chapters in this book
provide different perspectives on nutrition in the United
States (May 1999).
Diet Quality
 Is Dietary Knowledge Enough? Hunger, Stress, and Other Roadblocks to Healthy Eating—Poor diets and rising obesity rates among Americans persist despite increased public awareness of the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. This report presents a consumer demand model to illustrate how both long-term health objectives and immediate visceral influences—long intervals between meals, eating away from home, or time pressures—can drive individuals’ food choices. When individuals extend the interval between meals or consume more of their food away from home, they are significantly more likely to consume more calories and have lower diet quality (August 2008).
Insidious
Consumption: Surprising Factors That Influence What We
Eat and How Much—The prevalence
of obesity and diet-related illnesses is rising, despite
evidence that Americans are aware of the positive effects
of a balanced diet and exercise. Standard tools of economics
can only go so far in explaining these trends, but findings
from behavioral economics could help to better understand
consumers' food choices (June 2007).
Role of Food Prepared Away from Home in the American
Diet, 1977-78 versus 1994-96: Changes and Consequences,
Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 34
(3): 140-150, May-June 2002—Using data from nationwide
surveys of food consumption conducted by USDA in 1977-78
and 1994-96, ERS examined changes in the quantity and
quality of food consumed by Americans at home versus away
from home (May-June 2002).
Carbonated Beverages Are Replacing Milk in Children's
Diets—Children and adolescents in the United States
are increasingly choosing to drink soft drinks rather
than milk or juice. ERS analyzed data from USDA's Continuing
Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals and found that consumption
of soft drinks increased and consumption of milk decreased
as a child aged. Changes in beverage consumption among
children may have contributed to the increased prevalence
of obesity and overweight conditions among children. Girls
are less likely to consume milk and to consume less milk
than boys, a finding consistent with observations that
calcium deficiency is particularly severe among female
adolescents (2002). Contact Biing-Hwan
Lin for a reprint.
 American
Children's Diets Not Making the Grade—Many health
professionals are concerned about the quality of children's
diets in the United States. A varied diet is one of the
keys to good nutrition, but many children are choosing
foods high in fat or added sugars at the expense of nutrient-dense
fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and other foods. These
diet choices may be exacerbating the increasing prevalence
of obesity and other health problems among the Nation's
young people (May 2001).
Acculturation
Erodes the Diet Quality of U.S. Hispanics—This
article examines Hispanic diets and reveals that less
acculturated Hispanics—those who don't speak English—eat
somewhat healthier diets than acculturated Hispanics—those
who do speak English (January 2000).
Many
Americans Falsely Optimistic about their Diets—According
to a 1998 study, about 42 percent of U.S. household meal
planners mistakenly believed that their diets were more
healthy than they actually were (January 2000).
Maternal Nutrition Knowledge
and Children's Diet Quality and Nutrient Intakes—This
article examines the effects of maternal nutrition knowledge
and other maternal and household factors on the overall
diet quality and nutrient intakes of U.S. children ages
2-17 years (October 1999).
Away-From-Home Foods
Increasingly Important to Quality of American Diet—The
increasing popularity of eating out over the past two
decades has raised the proportion of nutrients in the
American diet that are obtained from away-from-home food
sources. Away-from-home foods typically contain more nutirents
that are overconsumed (fat and saturated fat) and fewer
nutrients that are underconsumed (calcium, fiber, and
iron) by Americans. This report analyzes food intake survey
data over the past two decades to compare the nutritional
quality of at-home and away-from-home foods and to examine
how quality has changed over time (January 1999).
 Factors Affecting Nutrient
Intake of the Elderly—The rapid expansion of
the population age 60 and older has a number of economic
implications. The people in this group, about 18 percent
of the population, account for about 30 percent of all
health care expenditures. Providing information on the
relationship of socioeconomic and other factors to nutrient
intake is basic to improving the health and well-being
of the elderly (October 1998).
USDA's Healthy Eating
Index and Nutrition Information—Examines the
extent that nutrition knowledge and other personal and
household characteristics influence the overall diet quality
of U.S adults (May 1998).
Many
Elderly at Nutritional Risk—This article reviews
studies indicating that the diets of many older Americans
do not provide the level of nutrients needed to maintain
a healthy body. Chronic diseases and poverty are two important
influences on the nutritional status of the elderly (January
1997).
The Diets of America's
Children: Influences of Dining Out, Household Characteristics,
and Nutrition Knowledge—Examines nutrient densities
of food consumed
at home and away from home by America's children (December
1996).
Food and Nutrient Intake and Availability
Dietary Assessment of
Major Trends in U.S. Food Consumption, 1970-2005—This
report uses techniques that adjust food supply data for
food spoilage and other losses accumulated through the
marketing system and the home. The report also estimates
MyPyramid servings for the major food groups to assess
how Americans are meeting Federal dietary guidelines (March
2008).
ERS
Food Availability Data Look at Consumption in Three Ways—This
data feature highlights the ERS Food Availability Data
System and the three data series on food availability,
loss-adjusted food availability, and nutrient availability
(April 2007).
Meeting
Fruit and Vegetable Dietary Recommendations Will Impact
Agriculture—This article provides one view of
potential implications for U.S. agriculture if Americans
changed their consumption of fruits, vegetables, dairy,
and whole-grains (April 2007).
Possible Implications
for U.S. Agriculture From Adoption of Select Dietary Guidelines—To
help Americans meet nutritional requirements while staying
within caloric recommendations, the 2005 Dietary Guidelines
for Americans encourages consumption of fruits, vegetables,
whole-grain products, and fat-free or low-fat milk or
milk products. This report provides one view of the potential
implications for U.S. agriculture if Americans changed
their current consumption patterns to meet some of those
guidelines (November 2006).
Will
2005 Be the Year of the Whole Grain?—The goal
of the new whole-grain recommendation in the 2005 Dietary
Guidelines for Americans is to improve Americans'
health by raising awareness of whole grains and their
role in nutritious diets. This article discusses how these
guidelines could have big impacts on farmers and farm
production, depending on consumers' and manufacturers'
responses (June 2005).
 Quality
of Children's Diets At and Away From Home: 1994-96—The
popularity of eating out is agrowing threat to the nutritional
quality of children's diets (January 1999).
Away-From-Home Foods
Increasingly Important to Quality of American Diet—The
increasing popularity over the past two decades of dining
out has raised the proportion of nutrients obtained from
away-from-home food sources in the average diet. Between
1997 and 1995, the nutritional quality of foods prepared
at home significantly improved compared with foods prepared
away from home (January 1999).
A Dietary Assessment
of the U.S. Food Supply: Comparing Per Capita Food Consumption
with Food Guide Pyramid Serving Recommendations—Food
Guide Pyramid servings are estimated for 250 agricultural
commodities in the U.S. food supply. Uses new techniques
that adjust food supply data for food spoilage and other
losses accumulated through the marketing system and the
home (December 1998).
Food Demand Analysis
Estimation of Food Demand and Nutrient Elasticities from Household Survey Data—ERS researchers developed a methodology for estimating a food demand system from household survey data and applied it to the 1987-88 Nationwide Food Consumption Survey data. The results are sets of estimated price and income elasticities for households of different income levels. The estimation results are useful in evaluating some food policy and program effects related to households of a specific income level (September 2000).
Nutrient Food Demand System How Economic Factors Influence
the Nutrient Content of Diets—Economic factors
such as food prices and consumer income affect food choices
with consequences for the availability of nutrients. A
research model estimates how the availability of 28 nutrients
would change as consumers alter their food purchases in
response to changes in food prices and income through
the interdependent food demand relationships. Contact
Kuo Huang for Technical Bulletin 1864, 1997.
Ordinary Food Demand System A Complete System of U.S.
Demand for Food—To provide a model for food consumption
forecasts and analyses of food program effects, a complete
set of food demand relationships consisting of direct-
and cross-price elasticities and expenditure (income)
elasticities has been computed. This report improves the
methodology and updates and revises demand elasticity
estimates for a disagregate U.S. food demand system. Contact
Kuo Huang for Technical
Bulletin 1821, 1993.
Inverse Food Demand System U.S. Demand for Food: A
Complete System of Quantity Effects on Prices—This
report specifies and estimates a large-scale inverse demand
system as well as provides empirical estimates for a U.S.
food demand system consisting of 39 food categories and
1 nonfood sector. The estimated demand system illustrates
the interdependent nature of food price variations in
response to quantity changes and provides practical information
for use in food price forecasting and various agricultural
program analyses. Contact Kuo
Huang for Technical Bulletin 1795, 1991.
Food Labeling
 The Decline in Consumer Use of Food Nutrition Labels, 1995-2006—This report examines changes in consumers’ use of nutrition labels on food packages between 1995-96 and 2005-06. Although a majority of consumers report using nutrition labels when buying food, use has declined for most label components, including the Nutrition Facts panel and information about calories, fats, cholesterol, and sodium. In contrast, use of fiber information has increased (August 2008).
Do
Food Labels Make a Difference?...Sometimes—Competition
drives food manufacturers to voluntarily label their products'
desirable attributes and to use third-party certifiers
to bolster credibility. Mandatory food labeling is usually
more successful at filling information gaps than at addressing
environmental or health spillovers associated with food
production and consumption. Labeling may initially have
a larger impact on manufacturers' production decisions
than on consumers' food choices (November 2007).
Nutrition Labeling in the
Food-Away-From-Home Sector: An Economic Assessment—Americans
spent about 46 percent of their total food budget on food
away from home in 2002, but such foods tend to be less
nutritious and higher in calories than foods prepared
at home. Current nutrition labeling law exempts much of
the food-away-from-home sector from mandatory labeling
regulations. This report provides an economic assessment
of a food-away-from-home nutrition labeling policy, including
justifications for policy intervention and potential costs
and benefits of the policy (April 2005).
Economics of
Food Labeling—This report traces the economic
theory behind food labeling and presents three case studies
in which the government has intervened in labeling and
two examples in which government intervention has been
proposed (December 2000).
Health Outcomes
 Assigning Values to Life:
Comparing Methods for Valuing Health Risks—Examines
fiveapproaches economists and health policy analysts
have developed for evaluating policy affecting health
and safety: cost-of-illness, willingness-to-pay, cost-effectiveness
analysis, risk-risk analysis, and health-health analysis
(December 1999).
High Costs
of Poor Eating Patterns in the United States, America's
Eating Habits: Changes and Consequences—Estimates
the economic costs of poor diets, which have been linked
to the four leading causes of death in the United States
(May 1999).
Osteoporosis-Related
Hip Fractures Cost $13 Billion to $18 Billion Yearly—Hip fractures are the most serious
consequence of osteoporosis, with over 70 percent of patients
becoming permanently disabled or dying prematurely. Increased
calcium consumption could prevent 40-60 percent of these
fractures (January 1996).
Nutrition Education
Accelerating
the Trend Toward Healthy Eating: Public and Private Efforts,
America's Eating Habits: Changes and Consequences—Reviews
nutrition education and information efforts by Federal
and State agencies, the private sector, and voluntary
organizations (May 1999).
 How Government
Policies and Regulations Can Affect Dietary Choices, America's
Eating Habits: Changes and Consequences—Reviews
four important categories of policies and regulations—farm
assistance programs, food safety regulations, information
regulations, and regulations covering other sectors—and
their potential effects on consumer dietary choices (May
1999).
Health Claims
in Food Advertising and Labeling: Disseminating Nutrition
Information to Consumers, America's Eating Habits: Changes
and Consequences—Evaluates whether policy changes
in the mid-1980's allowing food manufacturers to explicitly
link diet to disease risks in advertising and labeling
appear to have improved consumers' food choices (May 1999).
Breastfeeding:
Health and Economic Issues—Delineates
breastfeeding's health advantages (over formula feeding)
and discusses the methodological challenges in estimating
and comparing costs and benefits of a particular method
of infant feeding (May 1999).
Breastfeeding Promotion
Research: The ES/WIC Nutrition Education Initiative and
Economic Considerations—Reviews four projects
that focused primarily on promoting breastfeeding among
low-income women. These projects were part of a USDA interagency
effort to develop, deliver, and evaluate innovative nutrition
education programs (September 1998).
USDA's
Role in Nutrition Education and Evaluation—One
of USDA's major roles is to help people understand the
relationship between food and health through sound, research-based
nutrition education programs and information. This article
discusses the evolution of USDA's role in nutrition education,
from its first food guide in 1916 to its contribution
to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and its
emphasis on quantitative/impact evaluations of its nutrition
education efforts (January 1996).
Obesity
Food Stamps and Obesity:
What Do We Know?—Results from reviewed studies
indicate that for most Food Stamp Program participants,
use of food stamp benefits does not result in an increase
in either Body Mass Index (BMI) or the likelihood of being
overweight or obese. However, for nonelderly women, some
evidence suggests that participation in the Food Stamp
Program may increase BMI and the probability of obesity.
Because food stamp benefits are issued to households,
it is difficult to target policy alternatives to address
potential weight gain among some participants while not
affecting others in the household (March 2008).
Food and Nutrition Assistance
Programs and Obesity: 1976-2002—This report analyzes
multiple years of cross-sectional data to understand trends
in the relationship between food assistance program participation
and body weight. The purpose is to examine whether the
relationship is consistent over time and across population
subgroups (September 2007).
Obesity
Policy and the Law of Unintended Consequences—Action
to combat obesity and overweight could come in many forms
since many variables influence diet and lifestyle choices.
As a result of nearly unlimited choice, public policy
targeting specific foods or lifestyle choices could have
surprising unintended consequences. ERS has examined some
of the potential intended and unintended consequences
of three widely discussed obesity policies—nutrition
labels in restaurants, taxing snack foods, and restricting
food advertising to children—with a focus on the
likely effect of each program on producer and consumer
incentives and on health outcomes (June 2005).
The
Price is Right: Economics and the Rise in Obesity—Although
economics can help explain the rise in obesity and evaluate
potential interventions, it is largely silent on why people
have the preferences they do. Economists take preferences
as they exist and then predict how outcomes or choices
change as prices and incomes—or more generally,
incentives—change (February 2005).
The Economics of Obesity:
A Report on the Workshop Held at USDA's Economic Research
Service—The prevalence of obesity and overweight
has increased dramatically in the U.S. since the mid-1970s.
At a basic level, weight gain and obesity are the result
of individual choices. Consequently, economics, as a discipline
that studies how individuals use limited resources to
attain alternative ends, can provide unique insight into
the actions and forces that cause individuals to gain
excessive weight. In April 2003, ERS and the University
of Chicago's Irving B. Harris Graduate School of Public
Policy Studies and the George J. Stigler Center for the
Study of the Economy and the State jointly hosted a workshop
on the Economics of Obesity. This report presents a summary
of the workshop papers and discussions, providing an overview
of leading health economics research on the causes and
consequences of rising obesity in the U.S. (May 2004).
Weighing
In on Obesity—This issue of FoodReview
finds ERS researchers “weighing in” on a critical public
health issue—the growing epidemic of Americans who
are overweight and obese. The lead article takes a look
at the American diet—typically too high in added
sugars, refined grains, fats, and calories. Other articles
examine the relationship between caloric intake and obesity,
individuals' misperceptions about their weight status,
the link between fruit consumption and body weight, and
the cost-effectiveness issues raised by Federal interventions
to reduce obesity (January 2003).
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