Highly Processed and Ready-to-Eat Packaged Food and Beverage Purchases Differ by Race/Ethnicity among US Households

Citation

Poti, Jennifer M.; Mendez, Michelle A.; Ng, Shu Wen; & Popkin, Barry M. (2016). Highly Processed and Ready-to-Eat Packaged Food and Beverage Purchases Differ by Race/Ethnicity among US Households. Journal of Nutrition, 146(9), 1722-1730. PMCID: PMC4997279

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Racial/ethnic disparities in dietary quality persist among Americans, but it is unclear whether highly processed foods or convenience foods contribute to these inequalities.
OBJECTIVE: We examined the independent associations of race/ethnicity with highly processed and ready-to-eat food purchases among US households. We determined whether controlling for between-group differences in purchases of these products attenuated associations between race/ethnicity and the nutritional quality of purchases.
METHODS: The 2000-2012 Homescan Panel followed US households (n=157,142) that scanned their consumer packaged goods (CPG) food and beverage purchases. Using repeated-measures regression models adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics, we examined time-varying associations of race/ethnicity with processed and convenience food purchases, expressed as a percentage of calories purchased. We estimated associations between race/ethnicity and saturated fat, sugar, or energy density of total purchases with and without adjustment for processed and convenience food purchases.
RESULTS: Compared to white households, black households had significantly lower purchases of highly processed foods (-4.1% kcal) and ready-to-eat convenience foods (-4.9% kcal), and had higher purchases of basic processed foods, particularly cooking oils and sugar, (+5.4% kcal), foods requiring cooking/preparation (+4.5% kcal), and highly processed beverages (+7.1% kcal). Hispanics also had lower purchases of highly processed and ready-to-eat foods compared to whites. Blacks had CPG purchases with significantly higher median sugar (+2.2% kcal) and energy density (+72 kcal/1000g), whereas Hispanics had purchases with lower saturated fat (-0.6% kcal) and energy density (-25 kcal/1000g) compared to whites. Racial/ethnic differences remained significant after adjustment for processed and convenience food purchases.
CONCLUSIONS: In our study, compared to white households, both black and Hispanic households had lower purchases of highly processed and ready-to-eat foods, yet had total CPG purchases with differing nutritional quality. Our findings suggest that highly processed convenience foods are associated with, but cannot fully explain, racial/ethnic disparities in the nutritional quality of CPG purchases.

URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.3945/jn.116.230441

Reference Type

Journal Article

Year Published

2016

Journal Title

Journal of Nutrition

Author(s)

Poti, Jennifer M.
Mendez, Michelle A.
Ng, Shu Wen
Popkin, Barry M.

PMCID

PMC4997279

ORCiD

Ng - 0000-0003-0582-110X
Popkin - 0000-0001-9495-9324
Poti - 0000-0002-7651-3625