Increase In Eating Out Likely To Thwart Improvements In Americans' Diets.

Americans are dining out more often than ever, boosting the amount spent at eating places from 26% of food expenditures in 1970 to 39% in 1996, according to Away-From-Home Foods Increasingly Important to Quality of American Diet, a new report from USDA's Economic Research Service (ERS). While

the nutritional quality of foods consumed by Americans has improved overall, foods prepared and eaten at home generally contain less fat and saturated fat, but more fiber and calcium than those consumed away from home because of people's food and meal choices. Despite nutritional gains at home, Americans will find it difficult to improve their diets if they continue to make the same choices outside the home.

The frequency of dining out rose by more than two-thirds over the past two decades, from 16% of all meals and snacks in 1977-78 to 27% in 1995. Consequently, a greater proportion of nutrients now come from away-from-home food sources. For example, away-from-home foods provided 34% of total caloric intake in 1995 (nearly double the 19% in 1977-78), 38% of total fat intake (vs. 18% in 1977-78), 29% of total calcium intake (vs. 17% in 1977-78), and 27% of total iron intake (vs. 16% in 1977-78).

Improved diets could prevent a significant proportion of heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis-related hip fractures, and neural tube birth defects in the United States. The costs associated with these health conditions are substantial. Just for osteoporosis-related hip fractures, ERS has estimated that improved diets might save $5.1-$10.6 billion each year in medical costs, missed work, and premature deaths.

The nutritional content of foods prepared at home (home foods) has improved more than that of away-from-home foods in recent years. In 1995, away-from-home foods typically contained more of the nutrients overconsumed (fat and saturated fat) and less of those underconsumed (calcium, fiber, and iron) than home foods.

In 1977-78, fat from both home and away-from-home foods provided 41% of the calories consumed. The fat content of home foods declined to 31.5% of calories from fat by 1995, whereas the fat content of away-from-home foods declined to 37.6% of calories.

As with fat, the saturated fat content of American diets declined steadily since its first measurement in 198788. Home foods typically had lower saturated fat than away-from-home foods, and saturated fat in both types of foods experienced similar declines through 1994. Between 1994 and 1995, saturated fat in home foods continued to decline, while that in away-from-home foods rose slightly.

Cholesterol in both home and away-from-home foods has declined considerably since cholesterol intake was first measured in 1987-88. However, the decline has been sharper among home-prepared foods: between 1987-88 and 1990, cholesterol density in home foods was higher than in away-from-home foods, but the relationship has reversed since 1991. Sodium levels in both home and away-from-home foods are higher than the recommended level and have shown little decline over the years.

Calcium in home foods showed a general upward trend over the past two decades, while the calcium in away-from-home foods declined. In 1995, calcium in home foods was fairly close to the 1989 recommended levels, but away-from-home foods were more than 20% below the recommended level. School foods were considerably more rich in calcium than any other foods.

Fiber in both home and away-from-home foods has increased slightly. Home foods were more rich in fiber than away-from-home foods, but both remained Iow. The trend in eating out more implies that reaching the recommended fiber intake will remain a challenge for Americans.

Home foods have shown a larger increase in iron than away-from-home foods, likely because of increased home consumption of iron-fortified breakfast cereals. While most Americans consume recommended amounts of dietary iron, low iron intake is common among teenage girls and women, who face the highest requirements and typically have low food consumption.

Prepared by U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, Food and Rural Economics Division. Contact: BiingHwan Lin at 202-694-5458. E-mail: blin@econ.ag.gov

This ERS report offers further reading about this issue: The Diets of American's Children: Influences of Dining Out, Household Characteristics, and Nutrition Knowledge, by B.H. Lin, J. Guthrie, and J.R. Blaylock. AER No. 746, December 1996.