ERS Charts of Note
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Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Replacing calorie-dense snack foods with calorie-sparse fruits and vegetables can be one step in addressing childhood obesity and does not have to compromise a family’s food budget. An ERS analysis of prices per portion for 20 common snack foods and 20 potential fruit and vegetable substitutes found that 9 of the 20 fruits and vegetables and 8 of the 20 snack foods cost 25 cents per portion or less; an additional 8 fruits and vegetables and 10 snack foods cost between 26 and 50 cents per portion. On average, the 20 fruits and vegetables cost 31 cents per portion and the 20 snack foods cost 33 cents per portion. A household making all possible 400 substitutions between the 20 snack foods and the 20 fruits and vegetables would save an average of 2 cents and 126 calories per swap. The statistics in this chart are from "Gobbling Up Snacks: Cause or Potential Cure for Childhood Obesity?" in the December 2012 issue of ERS’ Amber Waves magazine.
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Americans seem to be heeding the advice of nutritionists to seek out lower fat foods—at least when it comes to fluid milk. In 2010, the per capita supply of whole milk available for consumption fell to 5.6 gallons from 6 gallons in 2009, according to ERS’s food availability data, continuing its long-term decline from a peak at 40.5 gallons per capita in 1943. Per capita availability of lower fat milk, which includes milks with milk fat levels ranging from 2 percent to skim milk and buttermilk, began rising in 1967, and in 1987, at 13.1 gallons per capita overtook whole milk. Per capita supplies of lower fat milk have remained fairly stable since leveling off in 1989 at around 14 to 15 gallons. Total beverage milk consumption continues to drop as other beverages compete to quench America’s thirst. The data for this chart come from ERS's Food Availability (Per Capita) Data System.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Dietary quality can vary across households throughout the United States. This is likely the result of a combination of both supply and demand factors. On the supply side, the geography of the food environment, as defined by the number and type of food retailers, can vary across markets. On the demand side, there are differences in local and regional food preferences. Researchers at ERS scored the nutritional quality of grocery store purchases of American households in 56 geographic markets using an approach similar to USDA’s Healthy Eating Index (HEI). Under the HEI, scores range from 0 to 100, with 100 indicating perfect adherence to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Average scores for the markets ranged from 52 in New Orleans, LA to 62 for Syracuse, NY. The average U.S. score was 56, indicating that the grocery store choices of Americans across the Nation fall short of fully adhering to Federal recommendations. This chart appears in the ERS report, Assessing the Healthfulness of Consumers’ Grocery Purchases, EIB-102, November 2012. See also the blog post in USDA’s Science Tuesday series.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Per capita food-at-home spending differs widely across countries. For example, in 2011 food-at-home spending was $2,239 per person in the United States, $452 in lower middle-income Cameroon, and just $276 in low-income Kenya. However, higher food spending does not always translate into higher food consumption. South African consumers, for example, spent more per person on at-home foods than Chinese consumers, but per person calories available for consumption were about the same in both countries. Japanese consumers outspent U.S. consumers on at-home foods, but per person calorie availability in Japan was lower. At-home food spending reflects general food price levels, prices for the particular foods purchased (grains versus meats), and, for higher income countries, the mix of at-home and away-from-home eating. While the average consumer in the United States spends more than 8 times as much on food at home as the average person in Kenya, per capita calorie availability is less than 80 percent higher. All eight countries had per capita calorie availability over 2,000 per day, but averages can mask large differences in food spending, access, and consumption within a country. This chart is based on data from the ERS Food Expenditures data product, updated October 2012.
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Negative health information about trans fats, combined with 2006 regulations requiring that food labels list the amount of trans fats in the food, have encouraged manufacturers to reformulate their products by reducing and, in many cases, eliminating trans fats. Trans fats are formed when vegetable oils are partially hydrogenated, raising their melting points and allowing them to be used in products such as snack foods and baked goods in place of more expensive animal-based fats, like butter. An ERS analysis of new products (including reformulated ones) introduced during 2005-10 found that trans fat levels for new bakery products declined by 73 percent--from an average of 0.49 grams per serving in 2005 to 0.13 grams in 2010. Trans fat levels for new snacks, desserts, prepared meals, and processed fish, meat, and egg products declined by around 50 percent over the period. This chart appears in "Trans Fats Are Less Common in New Food Products" in the September 2012 issue of ERS's Amber Waves magazine.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
American adults consume an average of 15 grams of dietary fiber a day, far below the 25 grams recommended for women and 38 grams recommended for men. Intake data for U.S. adults age 20 and older from the 2005-08 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) reveal that at-home foods obtained at supermarkets, grocery stores, convenience stores, and other retail outlets are richer in fiber than foods eaten at restaurants with wait staff, fast food places, and other away from home eating places. Home foods contained an average of 8.2 grams of fiber per 1,000 calories, compared with 6.8 grams in restaurant foods and lesser amounts in fast foods and other away from home sources. Intakes of over 7,000 foods reported by NHANES participants were converted into nutrient intakes using USDA's nutrient database. This chart appeared in "Food and Nutrient Intake Data: Taking a Look at the Nutritional Quality of Foods Eaten at Home and Away from Home" in the June 2012 issue of ERS's Amber Waves magazine.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Using data from time use surveys, ERS researchers analyzed associations between time spent by Americans age 20 and older on 24 major activity categories and body mass index (BMI--a measure of weight adjusted for height). Associations do not necessarily indicate causality, but they can provide insight into differences in behavior among people of different weight categories. The largest disparity between normal weight people and obese people was in time spent watching television. Normal-weight individuals spent an average of 147 minutes per day watching TV during 2006-08, while those who were overweight spent 164 minutes, and those who were obese spent 184 minutes. This chart appeared in "Investigating the Time Use Patterns of Obese Americans" in the June 2012 issue of ERS's Amber Waves magazine.
Monday, August 27, 2012
According to ERS's loss-adjusted food availability data, Americans consumed an average of 46.5 pounds of fresh fruit per person in 2010, up from 34.7 pounds in 1970. While bananas and apples still top the list of most popular fresh fruits, the amount of bananas consumed grew from 7 pounds per person in 1970 to 10.4 pounds in 2010, whereas consumption of fresh apples decreased from 10.4 pounds to 9.5 pounds. Watermelons and grapes moved up in the rankings, while per person consumption of fresh oranges fell by 2.1 pounds over the last four decades. Strawberries replaced pears on the list of America's most commonly consumed fresh fruits. The data for this chart come from ERS's Food Availability (Per Capita) Data System, updated August 20, 2012.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
ERS calculations using intake data from the 2005-08 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) reveal that Americans age 2 and older ate an average of 2,067 calories a day, up from 1,875 calories in 1977-78. During 2005-08, adults obtained 1,454 calories, or 69 percent of their daily calories, from at-home foods -- food bought at supermarkets, grocery stores, convenience stores, and other retail outlets. Children age 2-19 obtained 67 percent of their daily calories (1,310 calories) at home. For both groups, fast food places accounted for the largest share of away-from-home calories. Adults consumed an average of 264 calories at fast food places and 209 calories at restaurants. Children consumed an average of 266 calories at fast food places and 140 calories at school. This chart appeared in "Food and Nutrient Intake Data: Taking a Look at the Nutritional Quality of Foods Eaten at Home and Away from Home" in the June 2012 issue of ERS's Amber Waves magazine.
Friday, May 18, 2012
Intake data for U.S. children age 2-19 from the 2005-08 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) reveal that school-provided breakfasts and lunches, in which milk is a staple, are richer in calcium than foods eaten at home and foods from restaurants with wait staff, fast food places, and other away from home eating places. School foods contained an average of 650 mg. of calcium per 1,000 calories, compared with 542 mg. in home foods and lesser amounts in the other away from home sources. Intakes of over 7,000 foods reported by NHANES participants were converted into nutrient intakes using USDA's nutrient database. School foods were also found to be denser in fiber than foods from all other sources. The data in this chart are from the Food and Nutrient Intake Tables in the Diet Quality & Nutrition topic on the ERS website, updated June 15, 2011.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Data from the 2003-04 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) reveal that foods served at schools contained 0.71 cups of fruit per 1,000 calories, a higher density of fruit than served at restaurants with wait staff, fast food places, and other away from home eating places, and a little higher than foods eaten at home. ERS researchers used USDA's MyPyramid Equivalents Database to convert the over 7,000 foods reported by NHANES participants into food group components. For example, carrot-raisin salad was converted into cups of fruit and cups of vegetables. The data in this chart are from the Food and Nutrient Intake Tables (table 2) in the Diet Quality & Food Consumption topic on the ERS website, updated June 15, 2011.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Although it is possible for consumers to choose more healthful foods when they dine out, away-from-home meals and snacks tend to contain more calories and to be less nutritious than food prepared at home. Self-rated measures of diet healthfulness from the 2007-08 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey reveal that Americans seem to recognize the pitfalls of eating away from home, especially at fast food places. People who rated their diets as "Poor" ate food prepared away from home almost twice as often, and ate fast food three times as often, as those who rated their diets as "Excellent." This chart is from "Americans More Realistic About Their Diet Quality" in the March 2012 issue of ERS's Amber Waves magazine.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
An obstacle to policies aimed at improving diets through education is that consumers tend to overrate the quality of their diets and to think that dietary guidance is directed at someone else. A recent ERS study suggests that, in recent years, such optimism may be on the wane. The share of people who said that their diets were "excellent" or "very good" declined from 41 percent to 31.9 percent between 1989-91 and 2005-08. Declines in the share of "excellent" or "very good" self-ratings of diet were especially large among those with a high school education or some college. This chart is from How Americans Rate Their Diet Quality: An Increasingly Realistic Perspective, EIB-83, released September 2011.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
While Americans are consuming more dairy products and fruit than in 1970, the average American diet still falls short of the daily recommendations in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. According to ERS' Loss-Adjusted Food Availability data for 2009, Americans on average consumed more than the recommended amounts of meat and grains but less of the recommended amounts of dairy products, fruit, and vegetables. This chart can be found in the Diet Quality and Food Consumption briefing room on the ERS website, updated in September 2011.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Americans are consuming more calories per day than they did nearly 40 years ago. In 1970, Americans consumed an estimated 2,169 calories per person per day whereas in 2009, they consumed an estimated 2,594 calories (after adjusting for plate waste, spoilage, and other food losses). In 2009, grains-flour and cereal products-provided more calories per day than fats and oils; meat, eggs, and nuts; caloric sweeteners; dairy; and fruit and vegetables. This chart is from the Diet Quality and Food Consumption briefing room on the ERS website, updated in July 2011.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
The price index for carbonated drinks has been below both the consumer price index (CPI) and the indexes for all non-alcoholic beverages and whole milk over the last 25 years or so. That is, the real prices for carbonated drinks are actually declining over time. In contrast, the price index for all fruits and vegetables, particularly fresh, is increasing faster than the CPI. These price indexes do not take into account the increased availability, variety, and convenience of fresh fruits and vegetables over the last 30 years. This chart comes from the ERS report, The Effect of Food and Beverage Prices on Children's Weights, ERR-118, June 2011.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Americans' diets, particularly those of low-income households, fall short of Government recommendations in the quantity of fruits and vegetables consumed. Would a price subsidy encourage low-income Americans to consume more of them? ERS found that low-income households increased their consumption of fruits and vegetables when prices for these foods were lowered. If prices were lowered by 10 percent, households were estimated to increase their fruit consumption by up to 5.2 percent and their vegetable consumption by up to 4.9 percent, though most would still not meet Federal dietary recommendations. This chart is from the January 2009 ERS report, ERR-70, Fruit and Vegetable Consumption by Low-Income Americans: Would a Price Reduction Make a Difference?.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans advises consumers to increase their consumption of fruit and vegetables, devoting half of their plates to these nutrient-dense foods. Studies have found that low-income households consume fewer servings of fruit and vegetables than other households. In 2008, households with incomes above 300 percent of the Federal poverty line spent an average of $4.98 per person per week on fruit and vegetables. Households with incomes up to 130 percent of poverty spent just $3.09 per person per week. This chart originally appeared in the September 2010 issue of Amber Waves magazine.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
The Food Desert Locator provides a spatial overview of low-income neighborhoods with high concentrations of people who are far from a supermarket or large grocery store. This mapping tool will allow users to map food deserts-areas with limited access to affordable and nutritious foods-and view census tract-level statistics on population groups with low access to healthy and affordable food. An estimated total of 13.5 million people in these identified census tracts have low access to a supermarket or large grocery store-that is, they live more than 1 or 10 miles from a supermarket or large grocery store. Of these 13.5 million people, 82.1 percent are in urban areas. This map is from the Food Desert Locator, released May 2, 2011.
Monday, April 25, 2011
ERS research shows that away-from-home meals and snacks tend to contain more calories and to be of lower nutritional quality than food prepared at home. Consumers appear to recognize that frequent eating away from home can lower diet quality. In an ERS analysis of the 2005-06 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data, only 21 percent of respondents who ate more than seven away-from-home meals per week rated their overall diet quality as excellent or very good, compared with 43 percent who ate out less than once per week. This chart originally appeared in the June 2010 issue of Amber Waves magazine.