Can Taxes on Calorically Sweetened Beverages Reduce Obesity?

Beverage tax, obesity, overweight, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, D12, H2, I18,

Do Low Prices for Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Increase Children's Weight?

This paper tests whether prices of soda, fruit drinks, and other selected foods influence children’s BMI measures. Child and household data are drawn from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey, Kindergarten cohort (ECLS-K), which is merged with market prices available from the Quarterly Food at Home Price Database (QFAHPD) by county of residence. The results show that lagged prices for foods and drinks have more significant effects on children’s BMI compared to contemporaneous prices. This indicates that policies that affect food prices such as taxing or subsidizing would take time to have an effect on children’s weight.Childhood obesity, food prices, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

The Effect of Television on the Amount and Quality of Food Children Consume

In experimental studies, children exposed to television food ads chose less healthy snacks and consumed more food overall, as compared with children exposed only to ads for toys. These findings, however, do not indicate that TV viewing causes a decrease in diet quality or an increase in weight. Other factors correlated with TV watching, such as neighborhood and parent and child characteristics, may be more to blame. We estimate the effect of an additional hour of television on total calories and the quality of food consumed during a day for children 6 to 18 years old. This research is the first to use a first difference (fixed effects) estimation strategy to investigate the impact of television on daily food consumption among children in the United States.Television, children, diet quality, calorie intake, fixed effects, CSFII, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

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. The analysis finds that, 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. By contrast, use of fiber information has increased. The decline in label use is particularly marked for the cohort of adults less than 30 years old.Nutrition Facts panel, Nutrition Labeling and Education Act, nutrition label use, Diet and Health Knowledge Survey, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, Agricultural and Food Policy, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Marketing,

The Impact of Food Away from Home on Adult Diet Quality

Food away from home (FAFH) has been associated with poor diet quality in many studies. It is difficult, however, to measure the effect of FAFH on diet quality since many unobserved factors, such as food preferences and time constraints, influence not just our choice of where to eat but also the nutritional quality of what we eat. Using data from 1994-96 and 2003-04, this study applies fixed-effects estimation to control for such unobservable influences and finds that, for the average adult, FAFH increases daily caloric intake and reduces diet quality. The effects vary depending on which meals are consumed away from home. On average, breakfast away from home decreases the number of servings of whole grains and dairy consumed per 1,000 calories and increases the percent of calories from saturated and solid fat, alcohol, and added sugar (SoFAAS) in a day. Dinner away from home reduces the number of servings of vegetables consumed per 1,000 calories for the average adult. Breakfast and lunch away from home increase calories from saturated fat and SoFAAS on average more among dieters than among nondieters. Some of the overall negative dietary effects decreased between 1994-96 and 2003-04, including those on whole grain, sodium, and vegetable consumption.Food away from home (FAFH), diet quality, 2005 Healthy Eating Index (HEI-2005), fixed-effects, first-difference, Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals (CSFII), National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), Health Economics and Policy,

Changing Participation in Food Assistance Programs Among Low-Income Children After Welfare Reform

In 1996, the safety net for poor households with children fundamentally changed when Federal legislation replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) with Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). This study investigates participation in, and benefits received from, AFDC/TANF and food assistance programs, before and after the legislation, for children in low-income households (income below 300 percent of the Federal poverty line). The results show that, between 1990 and 2004, the share of children receiving food stamp benefits declined, most notably among children in the poorest households (income below 50 percent of the Federal poverty line). The share of children receiving benefits from the school meals programs and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) rose, mainly among children in low-income households with income above the Federal poverty line. Overall, the share of children in households that received benefits from AFDC/TANF or food assistance programs grew from 35 percent to 52 percent. However, the net result of these changes is that average total inflation-adjusted household benefits from all programs examined declined. The decline was largest among children in the poorest households.Food Stamp Program, SNAP, food assistance, welfare reform, WIC, school meals, National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, TANF, AFDC, multiple program use, Survey of Income and Program Participation, Public Economics,

Geographic Differences in the Relative Price of Healthy Foods

Although healthy foods can be affordable, if less healthy foods are cheaper, individuals may have an economic incentive to consume a less healthful diet. Using the Quarterly Food-at-Home Price Database, we explore whether a select set of healthy foods (whole grains, dark green vegetables, orange vegetables, whole fruit, skim and 1% milk, fruit juice, and bottled water) are more expensive than less healthy alternatives. We find that not all healthy foods are more expensive than less healthy alternatives; skim and 1% milk are less expensive than whole and 2% milk and bottled water is generally less expensive than carbonated nonalcoholic drinks. We also find considerable geographic variation in the relative price of healthy foods. This price variation may contribute to geographic variation in diet and health outcomes.Quarterly Food-at-Home Price Database (QFAHPD), healthy food, price, geographic variation, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Health Economics and Policy, Public Economics,

A Quarterly Food-at-Home Price Database for the U.S.

This report provides a detailed description of the methodology used to construct ERS’s Quarterly Food-at-Home Price Database (Q-FAHPD). As the name suggest, these data provide quarterly observations on the mean price of 52 food categories for specific U.S. markets. We provide a description of the Nielsen Homescan data that was used to create this database, the methodology used to classify foods into food groups, how we determined the appropriate the level of aggregation (sub-regional markets) and our calculation of average prices for each food group. This report also contains an overview and summary of the resulting data.Nielsen Homescan, food prices, diet quality, market prices, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Health Economics and Policy,

Patients Reasons for Choosing Office-based Buprenorphine: Preference for Patient-Centered Care

Objectives - To explore HIV-infected patients\u27 attitudes about buprenorphine treatment in office-based and opioid treatment program (OTP) settings. Methods - We conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with 29 patients with co-existing HIV infection and opioid dependence seeking buprenorphine maintenance therapy in office-based and OTP settings. We used thematic analysis of transcribed audiorecorded interviews to identify themes. Results - Patients voiced a strong preference for office-based treatment. Four themes emerged to explain this preference. First, patients perceived the greater convenience of office-based treatment as improving their ability to address HIV and other healthcare issues. Second, they perceived a strong patient-focused orientation in patient-provider relationships underpinning their preference for office-based care. This was manifest as increased trust, listening, empathy, and respect from office-based staff and providers. Third, they perceived shared power and responsibility in officebased settings. Finally, patients viewed office-based treatment as a more supportive environment for sobriety and relapse prevention. This was partly due to strong therapeutic alliances with office-based staff and providers who prioritized a harm reduction approach, but also due to the perception that the office-based settings were safer for sobriety, compared with increased opportunities for purchasing and using illicit opiates in OTP settings. Conclusions - HIV-infected patients with opioid dependence preferred office-based buprenorphine because they perceived it as offering a more patient-centered approach to care compared with OTP referral. Office-based buprenorphine may facilitate engagement in care for patients with co-existing opioid dependence and HIV infection