The low-cost, moderate-cost and liberal food plans, 2007

2007·4.1 MB·English

by  Carlson, Andrea, Ph.D., author

Historic, Archive Document
Do not assume content reflects current
scientific knowledge, policies, or practices.

Reserve
aTX360
U6C37
.
2007
USDA
United States The Low-Cost,
Departmentof
Agriculture
Moderate-Cost, and
CenterforNutrition
Policy and Promotion
CNPP-20 Liberal Food Plans, 2007
November2007
United States
Department of
Agriculture
National
Agricultural
Library
Advancing Access to
Global Information for
Agriculture
Carlson,A., Lino, M., & Fungwe,T. (2007). TheLow-Cost, Moderate-Cost, and
LiberalFoodPlans, 2007{CH??-10). U.S. DepartmentofAgriculture, Centerfor
Nutrition Policyand Promotion.
Abstract
TheLow-Cost, Moderate-Cost, andLiberal FoodPlans,three fundamental partsofthe
U.S. foodguidancesystem,havebeenrevisedbyUSDA'sCenterforNutrition Policy
andPromotion,withassistance from USDA'sFoodandNutritionService, Economic
ResearchService,andAgricultural ResearchService. Theplansproviderepresentative
healthfulmarketbasketsatthreedifferentcostlevels.Thisrevisionmaintainsthesame
inflation-adjustedcostsasthoseofthepreviousthree foodplans,lastrevisedin2003.
Inlinewithprevious foodplans, anassumptionusedtodeveloptheseplanswas
thatallpurchasedfoodisconsumedathome.Thenewlyrevised(2007)Low-Cost,
Moderate-Cost,andLiberal FoodPlansdifferfrom, andimproveupon,theprevious
versionsinanumberofways:
• ThePlansarebasedonthemostcurrentdietarystandards: the2005 Dietary
GuidelinesforAmericansaswell asthe2005 MyPyramidFoodGuidanceSystem.
• ThePlansusethelatestdataonfoodconsumption,nutrientcontent,andfoodprices:
the2001-2002NationalHealthandNutritionExaminationSurveyandthe2001-
2002 Food Price Database.
• ThePlans offeramorerealisticreflectionofthetimeavailableforhomefood
preparation;hence, eachplanincorporatesmorepreparedfoodswithintherecipes
andrequiresfewerpreparationsfromscratch.
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i
Acknowledgments
Inundertakingthisstudyofthe Low-Cost, Moderate-Cost, and Liberal Food Plans,
theCenterforNutrition Policyand Promotionreceivedvaluableassistance from other
U.S. DepartmentofAgricultureagencies. Specifically,the staffoftheCenterthankthe
FoodandNutrition Service foritsvaluableassistancewith combiningNielsenprice
dataandNational HealthandNutritionExamination Survey foodconsumptiondata,
andtheEconomicResearchService(withspecialthanksto KennethHanson)for
providingmajorcontributionsonthemodelingaspectsoftheproject, andtheNielsen
pricedataandguidanceonitsuse. We alsothanktheAgricultural Research Service
forfacilitatingtheprojectbyproviding MyPyramidcup and ounceequivalentsof
foods intheNational HealthandNutrition Examination Surveyandbyassisting in
convertingfoods froman"as-consumed"toan"as-purchased" form; andwethank
theCooperative StateResearch, Education, and Extension Service forhelpful advice
onmethodology. Lastly, wethank PeterBasiotis(retired, CNPPstaffdirector) forhis
yearsofexpertise anddedicationtothe foodplans.
TheLow-Cost, Moderate-Cost, andLiberalFoodPlans, 2007
Contents
Page
The Low-Cost, Moderate-Cost, and Liberal Food Plans, 2007 Executive Summary ES-1
Food Plan Development ES-1
Results ES-2
Conclusions ES-3
The Low-Cost, Moderate-Cost,and Liberal Food Plans, 2007 1
Introduction 1
Historical Background ofthe USDA Food Plans 2
Data 3
2001-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 3
2001-2002 Food Price Database 4
Methods 6
Model Inputs 11
Average Consumption ofEach ofthe Food Categories 11
Average Price ofthe Food Categories 12
Nutrient Profile and MyPyramid Equivalents Profile ofEach ofthe Food Categories 12
Model Constraints 13
Dietary Standards 13
Costand OtherConstraints 19
Mathematical Model 20
Food Plan Consumption Patterns 20
Mari<et Baskets orAs-Purchased Form 21
Average MarketBasketforEach Food Plan 21
Grains 34
Vegetables 34
Fruits 34
Milk Products 34
Meatand Beans 34
Other Foods 35
Average Food Plan Market Baskets VersusAverage Consumption and Previous Mari<et Baskets 35
Future CostUpdatesofthe Food Plans 38
Conclusions 39
References 40
Appendix 1. Food Group Database Documentation A1-1
Appendix 2. Description ofLow-Cost, Moderate-Cost, and Liberal Food Plan Optimization Model A2-1
Appendix 3. Food Plan Consumption Patterns in USDA MyPyramidAmounts ofFood A3-1
Appendix4. Expenditure SharesforFood Categories In the Food Plans A4-1
CNPP-20
iii
The Low-Cost, Moderate-Cost, and Liberal Food
Plans, 2007
Executive Summary
The Low-Cost, Moderate-Cost, and Liberal Food Plans havebeen revisedtoreflect current
dietaryrecommendations, foodconsumptionpatterns, foodcompositiondata, and food
priceswhilemaintainingthe same inflation-adjustedcostsasthoseofthepreviousthree
foodplans, lastrevised in2003.' Thisrevisionwasundertakenbythe U.S. Departmentof
Agriculture's(USDA)CenterforNutrition PolicyandPromotion(CNPP), with assistance
fromUSDA's FoodandNutrition Service(FNS), Economic ResearchService (ERS), and
AgriculturalResearchService(ARS).
Thesethreeplans, aswell astheThriftyFoodPlan, arethe fourofficial USDAfoodplans
maintainedbyCNPP.TheThrifty Food Plan servesasanational standard foranutritious
dietataminimal costand is used asthebasis formaximum foodstampallotments. The
Low-Cost, Moderate-Cost, andLiberal FoodPlansare usedforvariouspurposes:
bankruptcycourtsoftenusethevalueofthe Low-CostFoodPlanto determinetheportion
ofabankruptperson's incometo allocatetonecessaryfoodexpenses. TheDepartment
ofDefenseusesthevalueoftheLiberal FoodPlanto determinetheBasicAllowancefor
Subsistenceratesforall servicemembers. ManydivorcecourtsusethevaluesoftheUSDA
FoodPlanstosetalimonypayments.TheLow-Cost, Moderate-Cost,andLiberal Plansare
used inUSDA'sreportExpenditureson Children byFamilies,which is usedto set State
childsupportguidelinesand fostercarepayments.
Themarketbasketsofthe Low-Cost, Moderate-Cost, and Liberal Food Plansspecifythe
typesandquantitiesoffoodsthatpeoplecouldpurchase andprepareathometoobtaina
—
nutritiousdietatthreecostlevels. Foreach foodplan,thereare 15 marketbaskets one
foreach of15 age-gendergroups. The Low-Cost Food Planrepresents food expenditures
inthesecond fromthebottomquartileoffood spending; the Moderate-CostFood Plan,
foodexpenditures inthesecond fromthetopquartileoffoodspending; andtheLiberal
Food Plan, foodexpendituresinthetopquartile offood spending.
Food Plan Development
CNPPusedtwomaindatasetsto revisethemarketbasketsofall three foodplans: the
Federal Government's2001-2002National HealthandNutrition ExaminationSurvey
(NHANES)andthe2001-2002 Food PriceDatabase.Amathematical optimizationmodel
wasusedtodevelopthese foodplanstomeetrequired dietarystandardsandmaintain
specifiedcostlevels.
' "Previous"Low-Cost,Moderate-Cost,andLiberalFoodPlansrefertothe2003plans.The"newlyrevised,"
"revised,"or"new"Low-Cost,Moderate-Cost,andLiberalFoodPlansrefertothe2007 foodplans.
CNPP-20 ES-1
Thedietarystandardsinclude(1)the 1997-2005 RecommendedDietaryAllowances
(RDAs),AdequateIntakes(AIs),andAcceptableMacronutrientDistribution Ranges
(AMDRs); (2)the2005 DietaryGuidelines forAmericans; and(3)the2005 MyPyramid
foodintakerecommendations.Thecostlevelsoftherevised foodplans'marketbaskets
alsoremainequaltotheinflation-adjustedcostofthepreviousfoodplans' marketbaskets.
Foreachofthethree foodplans,themodelyieldedasuggestedconsumptionpatternthat
consistedofquantitiesof58 foodcategories foreachofthe 15 age-gendergroups. CNPP
converted foodsandquantitiesconsumedintothecorrespondingsetofpurchasable foods
andthencollapsedthemintoasimplifiedgroupof29 marketbasketgroups.
Results
The 1-weekmarketbasketsofthe29marketbasketgroupsaspurchased foreachofthe
15 age-gendergroupsforeachofthethree foodplansareshownintablesES-la-c.These
individualmarketbasketsmaybecombinedtoformahouseholdmarketbasket.
Foreachage-gendergroup,themarketbasketsofthethreefoodplansmeetall dietary
standardswiththeexceptionofvitaminE,potassium,andsodium. However, forallthree
foodplans,themarketbaskets forallage-gendergroupscontainmorevitaminEand
potassiumthangenerallyisconsumed. Itwasnotpossibleforanyofthemarketbaskets
tomeetthesodiumguideline,sosodiumwaslimitedtonomorethanmedianconsumption
foreachage-gendergroupinthesample.TomeettherecommendationsforvitaminE,
potassium,andsodiumwouldhaveresultedinmarketbasketsthatareverydifferentfrom
typicalconsumption(inthecaseofvitaminEandpotassium)orwouldrequirechangesin
food-manufacturingpractices(inthecaseofsodium).Thisrevisionofthemarketbaskets
oftheLow-Cost, Moderate-Cost, andLiberal FoodPlansdoesmeetfood(e.g., fhiit,
vegetables,andmilk)intakerecommendationsoftheMyPyramidFoodGuidanceSystem.
To understandhowreporteddietswouldneedto changetomeetthedietarystandards
ofthenewLow-Cost, Moderate-Cost, andLiberalFoodPlans,CNPPcomparedthe
population-weightedaveragemarketbasketsforeachplan(inpounds)withweighted
averageconsumption(inpounds)basedonthefoodexpenditurequartilecorresponding
to eachplan.Theaveragemarketbasketsforallthreefoodplanscontainmorevegetables,
fruits, andmilkproductsandlessotherfoods(fats,oils, sweets,etc.)comparedwith
averageconsumptionamounts.Thisisnotsurprisingbecausethefoodplansrepresenta
nutritiousdiet.
CNPPalsocomparedtheweightedaveragemarketbasketsofthenewandpreviousLow-
Cost,Moderate-Cost, andLiberal FoodPlans.Thiscomparisonshowstheeffectsof
changingdietaryguidanceovertime. Comparedwiththeirrespectivepreviousmarket
baskets,thenewaveragemarketbasketsoftheLow-Cost,Moderate-Cost,andLiberal
FoodPlanscontainfewerpoundsofgrains(butmorewholegrainproducts),meatand
ES-2 TheLow-Cost, Moderate-Cost, andLiberalFoodPlans, 2007
beans, andotherfoods, andmore fruit, vegetables, andmilkproducts. The 2005 Dietary
Guidelines forAmericansencourageincreasedintakesoffruit, vegetables, and fat-free
orlowfatmilkanddairyproducts.ThenewUSDAfoodguidancesystem, MyPyramid,
recommendsgreaterconsumption ofthese foodgroupsthan wasthecasewiththe 1992
FoodGuide Pyramid. Theincreasedamounts ofthese food groups intherevised food
plansresultedinevitablyindecreasesoftheotherfoodgroups.
Conclusions
The Low-Cost, Moderate-Cost, andLiberal FoodPlansrepresentnutritiousdietsatvarious
costs. Thisrevisionofthemarketbasketsofeach foodplanreflectsrecentchanges in
dietaryguidance and incorporatesupdatedinformationon foodcomposition, consumption
patterns, and foodpricesatthe same inflation-adjusted costoftheprevious foodplans.
Thenewmarketbasketsofthe Low-Cost, Moderate-Cost, andLiberal Food Plansarenow
official. Monthly costupdatesofthethreefoodplanswillbebasedonthecontentofthese
baskets.Also,the listoffoods andquantitiesspecified inthemarketbasketsmaybeused
innutrition and consumereducationprograms designedtohelp people eatahealthful diet
atvariouscostlevels.
CNPP-20 ES-3