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Diet and Eating Habits

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The ubiquity of food in developed nations does not necessarily imply that people will choose healthy options, nor does the scarcity of food in some developing areas imply poor eating habits. RAND research on diet and eating habits investigates economic and social factors behind such concerns as diet choices, nutrition, access to foods, obesity, and weight loss.

Journal Article

Who You Are Predicts What You Eat More Than Where You Shop

Apr 25, 2017

Who a person is may matter more than where they shop in predicting their consumption of unhealthy food. This suggests that focusing on opening more stores that sell healthy food will have little impact on reducing consumption of unhealthy food.
Journal Article

Improving Healthy Offerings by Food Trucks Is Possible, but Regulation May Be Needed to Sustain Efforts

Jan 23, 2017

Convincing low-cost lunch truck operators and their customers to embrace healthier food is possible. But regulation of menus and better marketing may be needed to make long-lasting changes.

Explore Diet and Eating Habits

Commentary

Bloomberg Is Right That Portion Control Works

Regulations requiring the restaurant industry to serve standardized portion sizes should be mandated and enforced by the same authorities responsible for checking hygienic conditions in food outlets, writes Deborah Cohen.

Jun 11, 2012
Commentary

What's on the Menu? A Status Quo That Needs to Change

If we want to make progress on the now-global obesity epidemic, we must challenge the status quo and make unhealthy food the new tobacco, writes Helen Wu.

May 23, 2012
Journal Article

Addressing the Proximal Causes of Obesity: The Relevance of Alcohol Control Policies

Many policy measures to control the obesity epidemic assume that people consciously and rationally choose what and how much they eat and therefore focus on providing information and more access to healthier foods.

May 1, 2012
Blog

American Adults Consume Twice the Recommended Amount of Junk Food

Is eating more fruits and vegetables the key to reducing obesity? Evidence suggests this may not be the most effective strategy. A recent RAND study of more than 2,700 adults found that calorie intake from cookies, candy, salty snacks, and soda was about twice as high as the recommended daily amount.

Apr 26, 2012
Journal Article

Does Neighborhood Food Environment Predict Youth Diets?

It's widely assumed that living near fast-food restaurants and convenience stores encourages overconsumption, while supermarkets encourage healthier diets. However, an analysis found no robust link between food environment and consumption in youths, indicating a more complicated relationship than some theories suppose.

Feb 1, 2012
Journal Article

Contextual Influences on Eating Behaviours: Heuristic Processing and Dietary Choices

This paper reviews some of the evidence that dietary behaviours are, in large part, the consequence of automatic responses to contextual food cues, many of which lead to increased caloric consumption and poor dietary choices.

Jan 1, 2012
Journal Article

Some Menus of U.S. Sit-down Chain Restaurants Are as Unhealthy as Fast Food

A review of menu nutrition information in U.S. sit-down chain restaurants found that 96 percent of main entrées exceeded the daily limits for calories, sodium, fat, and saturated fat recommended by the USDA.

Jan 1, 2012
Journal Article

Determinants of Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Incidence of Diabetes in Postmenopausal Women in the U.S.: The Women's Health Initiative 1993–2009

The majority of diabetes cases are preventable, and risk reduction strategies can be effectively applied to all racial/ethnic groups.

Jan 1, 2012
Journal Article

Preliminary Healthy Eating Outcomes of SNaX, a Pilot Community-Based Intervention for Adolescents

This project developed and designed Students for Nutrition and eXercise (SNaX), an intervention aimed at translating school obesity-prevention policies into practice with peer advocacy of healthy eating and school cafeteria changes.

Jan 31, 2011
Journal Article

Regional Price Differences and Food Consumption Frequency Among Elementary School Children

Geographic variation in food prices across the US affects youth's consumption of fruit, vegetables and milk; price variation does not seem to affect consumption of fast food or soft drinks, perhaps because consumption is less price sensitive.

Jan 31, 2011
Journal Article

Judging Nudging: Can Nudging Improve Popuation Health?

Nudging has captured the imagination of the public, researchers, and policy makers as a way of changing human behaviour, with both the UK and US governments embracing it. Theresa Marteau and colleagues ask whether the concept stands up to scientific scrutiny.

Jan 1, 2011
Journal Article

Discretionary Calorie Intake a Priority for Obesity Prevention: Results of Rapid Participatory Approaches in Low-Income US Communities

Reducing consumption of salty snacks, candy, cookies may be more effective than exercise in combating obesity

Aug 31, 2010
Journal Article

Using a Community Partnered Participatory Research Approach to Implement a Randomized Controlled Trial: Planning Community Partners in Care

Community-based participatory research promotes community engagement in improving depression care.

Jul 31, 2010
News Release

RAND Partnering with Hill House Association to Study How New Grocery Store Will Affect Pittsburgh's Hill District

Pittsburgh's Hill District neighborhood will be the focus of a RAND Corporation study that will examine how a full-service grocery store can influence the health of residents served by the store.

Jul 18, 2010
Journal Article

The Fiscal Consequences of Trends in Population Health

This study quantified the fiscal consequences and potential risks of trends in population health for medical care costs, labor supply, earnings, wealth, tax revenues, and government expenditures.

Jun 1, 2010
Journal Article

Small Taxes on Soft Drinks Insufficient to Substantially Curb Soda Consumption Among Children

Small sales taxes on soft drinks in the range currently in force in some states are insufficient to reduce consumption of soda or curb obesity among children. Such small taxes may reduce consumption in among children at greater risk for obesity, but reducing consumption for all children would require larger taxes.

Apr 30, 2010
News Release

Small Taxes on Soft Drinks Insufficient to Substantially Curb Soda Consumption Among Children

Small sales taxes on soft drinks in the range currently in force in some states are insufficient to reduce consumption of soda or curb obesity among children.

Apr 1, 2010
Journal Article

The Effects of Relative Food Prices on Obesity: Evidence from China 1991-2006

This paper explores the effects of relative food prices on body weight and body fat over time in China.

Jan 31, 2010
Journal Article

Not Enough Fruit and Vegetables or Too Many Cookies, Candies, Salty Snacks, and Soft Drinks?

There are many contributors to obesity, including excess consumption of discretionary calories (foods high in sugar and fat and low in essential nutrients), lack of fruit/vegetable consumption, and insufficient physical activity.

Dec 31, 2009
Research Brief

South Los Angeles Ban on Fast-Food Chains Misses the Mark

Summarizes the evidence for the ban on new fast-food chain restaurants in South Los Angeles (LA), including the density of such restaurants in the area and the eating habits of South LA residents, and concludes that the data do not support the ban.

Nov 2, 2009

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