Contribution of Away-From-Home Foods to American Diet Quality

Family Economics and Nutrition Review, Winter, 1999

As the number of meals and snacks eaten at fast-food places and restaurants has increased over the past two decades, so has the percentage of total calories consumed from these locations. Fastfood places accounted for 3 percent of total caloric intake in 1977-78 but 12 percent in 1995; restaurants' share of total calories was 3 percent in 1977-78 and 8 percent in 1995.

Fat and Saturated Fat

The benchmark densities for fat and saturated fat are no more than 30 and 10 percent of total calories, respectively. Over the past two decades, Americans have eaten less fatty foods. Fat provided an average of 33.6 percent of total calories in 1995, considerably less than the 41.1 percent of 1977-78. Fat density declined for both home foods (from 41.1 percent in 1977-78 to 31.5 percent in 1995) and away-from-home foods (from 41.2 percent to 37.6 percent).

Restaurant foods had a considerably higher fat density (46.2 percent) than either fast foods (41.6 percent) or school foods (40.1 percent) in 1977-78. Fat density of restaurant foods declined to 40.1 percent in 1995, fast foods to 39.3 percent, and school foods to 35.7 percent.

The saturated fat density of American diets was first measured in 1987-88. Home foods had a lower saturated fat density than away-from-home foods; this density declined in both types of foods through 1994. Since 1989, saturated fat density in school foods has been higher than in other away-from-home locations -- 14.2 percent of calories in 1995. The saturated fat density of home foods in 1995 was 10.9 percent and that for all away-from-home foods, 12.8 percent.

Cholesterol

The recommended daily cholesterol intake used to set the Daily Value for nutrition labeling is 300 milligrams (mg) or less. This recommended intake is fixed, regardless of caloric intake. In 1987-88, when cholesterol content of U.S. diets was first measured, average cholesterol intake was 286 mg per person per day. In 1995, it was 268 mg. Thus, cholesterol levels have been safely below the benchmark level. Cholesterol densities in both home (161 in 1987-88 to 129 in 1995) and away-from-home (151 in 1987-88 to 134 in 1995) foods have been markedly reduced during the past decade. Compared with all other sources, restaurant food has been consistently higher in cholesterol, with densities of 215 in 1978-88 and 176 in 1995. Males ages 12 to 39 (who tend to eat more than others yet have identical cholesterol recommendations) are those most likely to exceed the benchmark level of 300 mg per day.

Sodium

Sodium intakes as defined in the NFCS and CSFII include sodium occurring naturally in foods, as well as that added during food processing and food preparation. These intakes do not include sodium added at the table. The National Academy of Sciences recommends fewer than 2,400 mg of sodium per day, regardless of age and gender. As with cholesterol, those who consume more calories have lower benchmarks than do those consuming fewer calories.

Average daily sodium intake increased from 3,023 mg in 1987-88 to 3,348 mg in 1995. The sodium densities of home and away-from-home foods are fairly similar -- both substantially higher than the benchmark density. Restaurant foods contain much more sodium than other away-from-home foods, even though some decline has been observed since 1991. Overconsumption of sodium is a problem for most consumers except for young children and elderly women who tend to consume less calories than others.