Weight up, intake down - surprising results in UK consumers

Between 1980 and now the average weight of an adult male in the UK increased by 8.6 kg and that of a female 7.9 kg. At the same time there had been a substantial reduction - yes, reduction - in kilojoules per head purchased. In fact, by 2009 households were purchasing more than 15% fewer kiloloules than they had been in 1980.

What is going on?

Realistically, the only explanation can be that activity levels have fallen at a greater rate than calorie intake has fallen.

The report - Gluttony in England? Long-term change in diet - funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the European Research Council (ERC), also revealed:

• Kilojoule purchases fell across all household types and at all parts of the distribution of calorie purchases;
• Kilojoule purchases from eating out, soft drinks, snacks and confectionery increased over the period for all but young single households with particularly big increases for older single households (70%) and couples with children (36%);
• However, most calories are bought for consumption in the home, and the decline in calories from food at home was much larger than the increase in calories from eating out, soft drinks, snacks and confectionery;
• Calories purchased in the form of alcohol were also reduced;
• Over much of this period spending per calorie has been growing as people have switched to more expensive calories in the long run.

Melanie Lührmann, a research associate at the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) and one of the authors of this report, said: “We were surprised to find that there has been a substantial decline in total calories purchased at a time when obesity has increased.

Purchases of snack foods, soft drinks and food out have increased and now account for a greater share of kilojoules for most households. However, kilojoules purchased for consumption at home have declined strongly and account for the bulk of households’ food purchases. This does not mean that poor diet plays no part in rising obesity. But understanding the interaction between diet and physical activity is clearly crucial.”

Decline in spending and nutritional quality since the recession

A second report - Food expenditure and nutritional quality over the Great Recession - also funded by the ESRC and ERC, describes changes in the purchases and nutritional quality of food bought for home consumption since 2005. It uses comprehensive data on food purchases brought into the home by a sample of 15,850 households over the period from 2005 to 2012.

It finds that average real food spending fell by 8.5% from 2005-7 to 2010-12, as food spending in cash terms failed to keep pace with rising food prices. From 2007 to 2012, the price of food rose by 10.2% more than the price of all goods (measured by the consumer price index), and the global economic crisis led to falls in disposable incomes.

In the face of increasing prices and squeezed budgets, households have both reduced further the number of kilojoules purchased and have substituted towards buying cheaper kilojoules. This reduction in spending per kilojoule bucks a longer-term trend.

The report also finds that nutritional quality of food purchased has declined since 2005. For instance, households have substantially reduced the proportion of kilojoules bought as fruit and vegetables and have switched to foods with more saturated fat and more sugar per 100g.

Other findings include:

• Cut backs in kilojoules and spend per kilojoule have accelerated following the UK economy emerging from recession at the end of 2009;
• Couples with young children have reduced their kilojoule purchases and switched to cheaper calories to a greater extent than other household types;
• The switch to cheaper calories has coincided with a move to more calorie-dense foods, and with a decline in the nutritional quality of households’ food purchases;
• There has been a substantial shift towards purchases of processed foods and away from fruit and vegetables;
• Couples with young children, lone parent households and pensioner households have seen the largest declines in the nutritional quality of their purchases. This is partly driven by a much larger switch to processed foods compared with other household types.

Kate Smith, a research economist at the IFS and one of the authors of this report, commented: “Over the recession households have responded to higher food prices and the squeezes on their incomes by switching to cheaper calories. This has coincided with a fall in the nutritional quality of foods purchased, with moves away from fresh fruit and vegetables and towards processed foods. As a result, the average saturated fat and sugar content of food purchases has increased over this period.”

Martin O’Connell, a senior research economist at the IFS and another author of this report, said: “Overall this research highlights that links between food purchases and diet-related health problems such as obesity are complex. Understanding these links involves considering other aspects of people’s lifestyles and the influence of economic conditions on people’s decision-making. This is crucial to assessing the potential impacts of any policy measures designed to improve diet. The broad aim of research in this area being undertaken at the IFS is to shed light on these questions.”

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