Saturday, September 25, 2010

Current Eating Patterns

According to Harry Balzer, in this year's report Eating Patterns in America:


  • In 1984, we took more restaurant meals to work than we ate in our cars. Today it’s just the opposite!
  • In 1984, paper was the most popular packaging material for our foods and beverages. Today it’s plastic – and the amount we use increases each year.
  • In 1984, 22 percent of all in-home dinners included a salad. Today, salads are part of 16 percent of in-home dinners.
  • In 1989, 17 percent of all breakfasts ordered at a restaurant included a donut. Today 10 percent of us order donuts for breakfast.
  • In 1985, half of American homemakers agreed with the statement, “Children should not be allowed to eat sweets.” Today only 29 percent agree with that statement.
  • In 1993, 28 percent of children were overweight. Today, that number has reached 36 percent.
  • In 1984, we spent 11.9 percent of our disposable income on food. Today we spend 9.5 percent of our income on feeding our families.


Among the trends Harry Balzer identified for the 2008 edition of Eating Patterns in America were:

  • Americans are eating more at home…but that doesn’t mean they’re using restaurants less.
  • Breakfast bars and yogurt hit a new high at breakfast, but stopping at restaurants for breakfast also hit a new high this year.
  • Americans are losing interest in losing weight as dieting hits a new low this year.
  • Snacking is not as impulsive as you might think. Most snacks are planned more than six hours earlier. There is a shift in when the most snacking occurs — more in the morning and less in the evening.
  • Probiotics is the “new” health topic, as concerns about trans fat fades.
  • Winter is becoming a new grilling season.

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