Americans enjoy one of the most bountiful and affordable food supplies in the world. Yet, with this abundance comes overconsumption of total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol.
Solutions begin with understanding consumer behavior and the factors that influence food choices.
In addition, a mother's years of schooling, smoking status, race, and ethnicity influence her children's diets. The results imply that health and nutrition education may be more effective if targeted toward the mothers of preschool children and directly toward school-age children. Since the the popularity of eating out is expected to continue, strategies to improve the American diet must address consumers food choices when eating out. The people in this group, about 18 percent of the population, account for about 30 percent of all health care expenditures. Providing information on the relationship of socioeconomic and other factors to nutrient intake is basic to improving the health and well-being of the elderly.