title: Nutrient intake: A cross-national analysis of trends and economic correlates.
abstract: Nutrition is a key input in the health production function, and a better understanding of how we eat can aid in guiding effective policy change towards better population health. This study documents prevalence rates, trends in, and potential correlates of nutrient intake for panels of countries, categorized by geographical regions and levels of development. We assemble data from 209 countries, spanning 51 years (1961-2011), based on original data compilations using 960 country-years for BMI, 370 country-years for glucose, and 321 country-years for cholesterol. Our estimates inform the nature and scope of nutrient intake on a global scale, and contribute towards an understanding of the drivers of the general upward trend in food intake and obesity. The cross-national trends, across countries spanning the spectrum of economic development and geographic regions, suggest that simply analyzing aggregate caloric intake masks the heterogeneity in trends for the various food groups. Food groups analyzed include cereals, sugars and sweeteners, vegetable oils, meat, starch, milk, fruits, animal fats, alcoholic beverages, oil crops, pulses, vegetables, fish, and eggs. Fixed effects regression analyses reveal that caloric intake is strongly associated with hunger depth, body mass index, cholesterol levels, and glucose levels. Moreover, changes in real GDP per capita, labor force participation, and health care inputs in a nation can partly explain the increase in caloric intake. We note that substantial heterogeneity remains.
authors.affiliation: Bentley University & NBER, Department of Economics, 175 Forest St., AAC 195, Waltham, MA 02452, USA. Electronic address: ddave@bentley.edu.
authors.forename: Dhaval
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dave
authors.affiliation: Brooklyn College-CUNY & City University of New York Graduate Center, School of Business, 2900 Bedford Avenue, 216 Whitehead Hall, Brooklyn, NY 11210, USA. Electronic address: ndoytch@brooklyn.cuny.edu.
authors.forename: Nadia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Doytch
authors.affiliation: Queens College-CUNY & NBER, Department of Economics, 65-30 Kissena Boulevard, 300 Powdermaker Hall, Flushing, NY 11367, USA. Electronic address: inas.kelly@qc.cuny.edu.
authors.forename: Inas Rashad
authors.initials: IR
authors.lastname: Kelly
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003611:Dairy Products; D002149:Energy Intake / Q000208:ethnology; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D005260:Female; D005638:Fruit / Q000378:metabolism; D014943:Global Health / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008460:Meat; D008875:Middle Aged; D009747:Nutritional Physiological Phenomena / Q000208:ethnology*; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods*; D014675:Vegetables / Q000378:metabolism
keywords: Calories; Economic correlates; Global nutrition; Health; Multi-country comparison; Nutrient intake