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Trends in U.S. food prices, 1950-2007

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  • Christian, Thomas
  • Rashad, Inas

Abstract

The potential effect that food prices may have on the health of the U.S. population needs to be further explored, particularly in light of the rising food prices currently being observed. Declining food prices over time have been singled out as a main contributor, for example, to the rising trend in obesity. In this paper we use data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the American Chamber of Commerce Researchers Association, the Consumer Expenditure Survey, and the United States Department of Agriculture to analyze trends in various types of food prices, to create a food price index, and to estimate the price of a calorie. Results may be used by future researchers in estimating the health implications of these trends. We find that while the general trend in food prices has been declining, that of restaurant meal prices and prices of fruits and vegetables has risen over time. It is doubtful that the decline in food prices has been sufficiently large to account for the large increase in caloric intake that is said to have contributed to the obesity epidemic in the U.S.

Suggested Citation

  • Christian, Thomas & Rashad, Inas, 2009. "Trends in U.S. food prices, 1950-2007," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 7(1), pages 113-120, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ehbiol:v:7:y:2009:i:1:p:113-120
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    Cited by:

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    6. Monsivais, Pablo & Mclain, Julia & Drewnowski, Adam, 2010. "The rising disparity in the price of healthful foods: 2004-2008," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(6), pages 514-520, December.
    7. Adam Drewnowski & Nicole Darmon & Pablo Monsivais, 2021. "Affordable Nutrient Density: Toward Economic Indicators of Sustainable Healthy Diets," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-9, August.
    8. Dave, Dhaval M. & Kelly, Inas Rashad, 2012. "How does the business cycle affect eating habits?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(2), pages 254-262.
    9. Coronese, Matteo & Occelli, Martina & Lamperti, Francesco & Roventini, Andrea, 2023. "AgriLOVE: Agriculture, land-use and technical change in an evolutionary, agent-based model," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 208(C).
    10. Declerck, Francis, 2014. "Do Agricultural Commodity Firm Stock Price and Agricultural Commodity Price Move Together?," 2014 International European Forum, February 17-21, 2014, Innsbruck-Igls, Austria 199388, International European Forum on System Dynamics and Innovation in Food Networks.
    11. Buttet, Sebastien & Dolar, Veronika, 2015. "The Price Of One Sweet Calorie," International Journal of Food and Agricultural Economics (IJFAEC), Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University, Department of Economics and Finance, vol. 3(4), pages 1-14, October.
    12. Riera-Crichton, Daniel & Tefft, Nathan, 2014. "Macronutrients and obesity: Revisiting the calories in, calories out framework," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 14(C), pages 33-49.
    13. Ghimire, Ramesh & Ferreira, Susana & Green, Gary T. & Poudyal, Neelam C. & Cordell, H. Ken & Thapa, Janani R., 2017. "Green Space and Adult Obesity in the United States," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 201-212.
    14. Hembre, Erik & Collins, J. Michael & Wylde, Samuel, 2024. "A rising tide lifts all homes? Housing consumption trends for low-income households since the 1980s," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 233(C).
    15. Strulik, Holger, 2019. "I shouldn’t eat this donut: Self-control, body weight, and health in a life cycle model," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 14(C).
    16. Declerck, Francis, 2014. "Do Agricultural Commodity Firm Stock Price and Agricultural Commodity Price Move Together?," International Journal on Food System Dynamics, International Center for Management, Communication, and Research, vol. 5(3), pages 1-10, November.
    17. Buttet, Sebastien & Dolar, Veronika, 2015. "Toward a quantitative theory of food consumption choices and body weight," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 17(C), pages 143-156.
    18. Partha Deb & Carmen Vargas, 2016. "Who Benefits from Calorie Labeling? An Analysis of its Effects on Body Mass," NBER Working Papers 21992, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Adam, Abdulfatah & Jensen, Jørgen D. & Sommer, Iben & Hansen, Gitte L., 2017. "Does shelf space management intervention have an effect on calorie turnover at supermarkets?," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 311-318.
    20. Zhao, Zhenxiang & Kaestner, Robert & Xu, Xin, 2014. "Spatial mobility and environmental effects on obesity," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 14(C), pages 128-140.
    21. Pieroni, L. & Salmasi, L., 2014. "Fast-food consumption and body weight. Evidence from the UK," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 94-105.

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