Food consumption patterns - EFR 6-31

The following information on changes in food consumption might make an interesting column in a newsletter or news release.

Summarized from FOOD CHEMICAL NEWS, May 13, 1996, p. 8.

Information contained in a bulletin from USDA's Economic Research Service (ERS) suggests that Americans are eating healthier diets, but they are still not up to recommendations made by public health professionals. The bulletin, "Food Consumption, Prices and Expenditures, 1996," contains data on food consumption trends and updates per capita consumption data for major food commodities from 1970 to 1994.

Fiber

Americans are still not eating high-fiber foods at the levels recommended, but they are eating more grains, especially in mixtures.

Sugars

In spite of non-nutritive sweeteners like aspartame and saccharin, the ERS data indicates that Americans have increased their consumption of sugar and other sweeteners which do have calories. In 1994, per capita use of caloric sweeteners was 20% greater than in 1980 and had reached an all time high. People were eating 6 more pounds of candy then they did in 1980, and soft drink consumption jumped 43% from 1986 to 1994.

Milk

The increased use of low-fat and skim milk instead of whole milk continued, which is a good sign. However, ERS noted that intake of fat from dairy products (milkfat) had not decreased since use of cheese increased 53% since 1980.

Meat

Poultry consumption continued to rise while less red meat was eaten by Americans according to the report. Of total meat consumption, chicken and turkey accounted for 33% in 1994, up from 23% in 1980 and 19% in 1970. The amount of red meat was 59% of total meat consumed in 1994, compared with 70% in 1980 and 74% in 1970.

Fruits and vegetables

There was a 20% increase in per capita use of commercially produced fruits and vegetables from 1970 to 1994. Use was 678 pounds in 1994, compared with 566 pounds in 1970.

Carbohydrates, proteins and fat in the food supply

The increase in fruits, vegetables and grains helped account for an 18% increase in the level of carbohydrates in the U.S. food supply over 1970 levels. Also according to the ERS, more grain consumption resulted in a 6% increase in protein levels, and the level of fat was up 4% (in spite of low-fat foods), because of the increased use of salad and cooking oils and shortening in the diet. Since the report only covers data through 1994, and there has been a rapid increase since 1994 in low-fat salad dressings and other low-fat foods, this trend may change in the coming years.

Eating away from home

Away-from-home meals and snacks accounted for 47% of the U.S. food dollar in 1994, up from 34% in 1970. Part of this increase was helped by the fact that food prices rose more in supermarkets than at restaurants, the report found.