What Is America Eating? Proceedings of a Symposium (1986) / Chapter Skim
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Economics and Nutrition
Economics and Nutrition
Pages 46-57
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From page 46... ...
INCOME AND DIET One of the first factors an economist examines in analyzing food consumption behavior is household income, which determines the budget that is available for expenditures and imposes constraints on consumer behavior. Income may, therefore, be related to nutrient intake and food consumption patterns.
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From page 47... ...
population have marked dietary deficienciesfor example, inadequate iron and calcium levels for many women and girls but these problems are not related to income (USDA, 19801. The United States is sufficiently wealthy so that income level is usually no longer a primary determinant of nutrient intake.
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From page 48... ...
However, TABLE 2 Per Capita Average Daily Dietary Intake of Major Food Groups in Households at Four Income Levelsa Average Daily Intake (g) by Household income Levelb Under $6,000 to $10,000 to $16,000 $6,000 $9,999 $15,999 and Over Food Group (N = 4,026)
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From page 49... ...
The highest income elasticities are for alcoholic beverages and food away from home. TABLE 3 Income Elasticities Estimated from the Household Portion of the 1977-1978 Nationwide Food Consumption Surveya Food Group Income Elasticityb Total food Food away from home Food at home Dairy products Fresh milk Processed milk Cheese Fats and oils Cereal products Bakery products Beef Pork Poultry Fish, shellfish Eggs Sugar and sweets Fresh vegetables Fresh fruits Canned fmits and vegetables Frozen fruits and vegetables Soft drinks Alcoholic beverages 0.32 0.81 0.15 0.15 0.05 —0.08 0.32 0.07 -0.12 0.15 0.23 —0.01 0.07 0.33 -0.06 0.05 0.18 0.24 -0.04 0.44 0.19 0.90 aFrom USDA, 1981a.
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From page 50... ...
In contrast, cornmeal, grits, and sweet potato consumption decreased by at least a factor of three between the lower and higher income levels. Income is highly correlated with other sociodemographic factors, such as age, education, and race, that are also determinants of food consumption patterns.
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From page 51... ...
PRICES AND DIET Food prices, particularly price differences between substitute products, also strongly influence food consumption patterns. Some of the most marked changes in eating patterns during the last 20 years have occurred in meat and poultry consumption.
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The food plans were developed using data on the observed food consumption patterns at various income levels. ReGently revised plans were based on the 1977-1978 NECS (USDA, 1983a,c)
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Least-Cost Diets An approach different from Mat of the USDA food plans has been the construction of least-cost or very low cost diet plans using linear programming techniques (Foyers, 1981~. The objective function in the program is to minim~ze Be cost of the diet, subject to the constraint of satisfying basic nu~itional requirements with He given food prices.
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From page 55... ...
The resulting increased scarcity of household time partially explains the steadily increasing proportion of food eaten away from home and the current high demand for such products as microwave ovens and frozen dinner entrees. Food and Nutrition Profiles Some recent research by the Community Nutrition Institute (Leonard, 1982)
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From page 56... ...
In sharp contrast, contemporary American eating patterns reflect the remarkably vmed diets that occur when economic abundance is widespread, although certainly not universal, in a society. Eating patterns in the United States demonstrate the complexity of human behavior and continue to challenge researchers' understanding and explanation of them.
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From page 57... ...
Human Nutrition Information Service, Consumer Nutrition Division, Nationwide Food Consumption Survey 1977-78, Report No.
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