Food budget standards and dietary adequacy in low-income families.

Population-level analysis of dietary influences on nutritional status is challenging in part due to limitations in dietary intake data. Household expenditure surveys, covering recent household expenditures and including key food groups, are routinely conducted in low- and middle-income countries. These data may help identify patterns of food expenditure that relate to child growth. ObjectivesWe investigated the relationship between household food expenditures and child growth using factor analysis. MethodsWe used data on 6993 children from Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam at ages 5, 8 and 12y from the Young Lives cohort. We compared associations between household food expenditures and child growth (height-for-age z scores, HAZ; body mass index-for-age z scores, BMI-Z) using total household food expenditures and the “household food group expenditure index” (HFGEI) extracted from household expenditures with factor analysis on the seven food groups in the child dietary diversity scale, controlling for total food expenditures, child dietary diversity, data collection round, rural/urban residence and child sex. We used the HFGEI to capture households’ allocations of their finances across food groups in the context of local food pricing, availability and pReferences ResultsThe HFGEI was associated with significant increases in child HAZ in Ethiopia (0.07), India (0.14), and Vietnam (0.07) after adjusting for all control variables. Total food expenditures remained significantly associated with increases in BMI-Z for India (0.15), Peru (0.11) and Vietnam (0.06) after adjusting for study round, HFGEI, dietary diversity, rural residence, and whether the child was female. Dietary diversity was inversely associated with BMI-Z in India and Peru. Mean dietary diversity increased from age 5y to 8y and decreased from age 8y to 12y in all countries. ConclusionHousehold food expenditure data provide insights into household food purchasing patterns that significantly predict HAZ and BMI-Z. Including food expenditure patterns data in analyses may yield important information about child nutritional status and linear growth.

We examined household's food expenditures in this study. The empirical work outlined here used quarterly data from 2003 Q1 to 2010 Q3. All variables are in log form and were obtained from the Korea National Statistical Office. The food items included cereals, dairy products, fruits, meat, vegetables, and alcoholic beverages. We applied the ordinary least squares method to a model consisting of household income and seasonal dummies. This is because household expenditures are ordinarily a function of income and have seasonal characteristics. The household's food consumption patterns also reflect the prevailing social and environmental circumstances. This study showed that the income coefficients of cereals, meat, dairy products, and alcoholic beverages tend to increase in the long-run, whereas those of vegetables and fruits decreased. The results also revealed that consumption of alcoholic beverages and meat was greatly affected by household income fluctuations, whereas those of vegetables and dairy products were not sensitive to income. The impulse response functions indicated that expenditures not only increased slowly before peaking one to eight quarters after the income shock but declined very slowly to pre-shock levels. The response of dairy products at the twelfth step was three times as large as that of the first step.

Achieving food security and ensuring the consumption of healthy, nutritious food, and/or balanced diets for most rural households continues to be a challenge. This poses a significant barrier to achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 1 (No Poverty) and 2 (Zero Hunger), disproportionately affecting rural communities and leaving fundamental human needs, such as reliable food access, unfulfilled. The current study, therefore, sought to assess the key drivers of household food security and consumption patterns in the post-COVID-19 pandemic. Primary data was collected from 165 randomly selected rural households to address the aim of the study. Descriptive analysis, Household Food Insecurity Experience Scale, and Multivariate binary logistic regression using Stata 15 software were employed to analyze the data. Descriptive statistics revealed variability in the consumption of various food groups, with starchy food (main staples and pulses) being the most consumed, followed by oil, meat or fish, sugar, vegetables, fruit, and milk (products). The results further indicated that households in these communities lack dietary diversification and balanced diets, with limited choice and reliance on affordable starchy foods. Notably, this monotonous diet regime has significant implications for micronutrient deficiencies, increased risk of chronic diseases, and compromised overall health and well-being, underscoring the need for targeted nutrition interventions to address the pervasive hunger and malnutrition in these communities. The main drivers of food insecurity in Umzimvubu and Ntabankulu municipalities are household income, monthly food expenditure, access to financial credit and the number of employed and unemployed household members. These factors, combined, significantly condition household food security status and consumption patterns across these rural areas. The study emphasizes the urgent need for targeted interventions to address the lack of formal qualifications, high unemployment and the high rate of food insecurity across these rural communities. Skill development, economic empowerment and financial inclusion for rural households are the most important strategic elements that should be considered when developing strategies to eradicate poverty and hunger. Households in rural areas should be enlightened about the importance of having and consuming balanced diets and the benefits of participating in farming. Key words: Food security, post-COVID-19, binary logistic regression, household food consumption

The study analyses the direct and indirect effects of internet access on household food expenditure and nutrition using income as a mediating variable. Cross-sectional data from the March 2020 National Socio-Economic Survey by the Central Bureau of Statistics were used covering 127,672 agricultural households across 34 provinces in Indonesia. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure development is employed as an instrumental variable to address the endogeneity of internet access. Data were analysed using the two stages least squares model and mediation regression. Findings indicate that internet access has a significant direct effect on household food expenditure and nutrition. Moreover, internet access indirectly influences these outcomes through its impact on household income. These results underscore the crucial role of ICT in improving the welfare of agricultural households by enhancing consumption patterns. Expanded ICT infrastructure facilitates better access to information on food prices, healthy consumption practices, and efficient shopping strategies which in turn boost household nutrition and food expenditure. This research has significant policy implications for strengthening ICT development and supporting the micro, small, and medium-scale food industry in Indonesia.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of off-farm income on food expenditure, using survey data of 493 rural households from Gansu, Henan and Shandong provinces in China.Design/methodology/approachA two-stage least squares estimator is used to jointly estimate the determinants of off-farm income and the direct impact of off-farm income on food expenditure while controlling for the endogeneity issue associated with off-farm income variable.FindingsThe empirical results show that gender, education of household head, household size, farm size, the presence of children, smartphone use and asset ownership mainly determine off-farm income, and the off-farm income affects food expenditure of rural households significantly. In particular, the results show that a 1,000 yuan increase in per capita off-farm income increases per capita food expenditure by 61 yuan. Further estimations reveal that off-farm income has a larger effect on food expenditure of high-income rural households relative to their low-income counterparts.Originality/valueAlthough poverty implications of off-farm income have been well documented, few studies have analysed the effects of off-farm income on food expenditure of rural households. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, there are no studies on this issue that focus on rural China. Therefore, the present study attempts to provide a first insight into the association between off-farm income and food expenditure of rural households in China, with the aim of providing useful evidence for policymakers in their efforts to reduce rural and urban food consumption gap and further increase social welfare.

Household expenditure surveys, routinely conducted in low—and middle-income countries (LMICs), usually include questions pertaining to recent household expenditures on key food groups. When child anthropometrics are also available, such expenditure data can provide insights into household food purchasing patterns that are associated with subsequent child growth measures. We used data from 6993 children, born around 2001, from Ethiopia, India, Peru, and Vietnam, from the Young Lives younger cohort. We compared associations between two weeks of household food expenditures (in PPP—Purchasing Power Parity adjusted dollars) on food groups and child height-for-age-Z score (HAZ) at subsequent time points to assess longitudinal associations. Total food expenditures, rural/urban residence, maternal and paternal schooling, and child sex were included in our adjusted models because they may affect the relations between household food group expenditures and future child HAZ. In Ethiopia, India, and Peru every extra PPP$ spent on fats was associated with 0.02–0.07 higher future HAZ. In Vietnam every extra PPP$ spent on starches, was significantly associated with a 0.01 lower future HAZ. Across countries, different patterns of food expenditure and procurement may be differentially critical for predicting child HAZ. Our results demonstrate how expenditures on specific food groups can be associated with children’s linear growth. This study provides additional evidence of the utility of longitudinal household food expenditure data in understanding child nutritional status.

Data on household expenditure for education is censored data. One method used to analyze this censored data is Tobit regression. Tobit regression changes the response variable which was originally a nominal scale into a mixed scale measurement. Tobit regression can overcome the non-biased categorical regression model. This study aims to analyze the factors that influence household expenditure on education in Semarang city. The dependent variable used in this study is household expenditure for education. The independent variables used include the Education of the Head of the Household, Occupation of the Head of the household, number of household members, Number of Working Household Members, the proportion of household members who attend school ≤ in Junior High School, Senior High School and College, food expenditure in households and regions. Based on the Tobit regression model obtained, the factors that influence household expenditure for education include the number of household members (ART), Number of Working Household Members, the proportion of household members who attend school ≤ in Junior High School, Senior High School and College, food expenditure in households. Generate market research especially in customer satisfaction.

Does Being Diagnosed As Anemic in Early Pregnancy Have an Impact on the Household Expenditure for Food? Evidence From a Maternal Cohort in Rural Sri Lanka

This research examined the level and changes in household food expenditure in Korea using socio‐economic and demographic factors. The data from the Family Income and Expenditure Survey between 1994 to 2009 produced by Korean National Statistical Office were used. The proportion of the food expenditure was decreased during this period of time, while that of eating‐out expenses were increased. Food, clothing, and housing expenditures were decreased, while expenditure for education, health care, and communication were increased. Economic factors including economic crisis (e.g., 1997 economic crisis, 2008 global financial crisis) affects food expenditure. The relative price of food increased about 12% during this period of time and the price is a significant factor affecting food expenditure. It was also found that demographic factors including the age of household head, household income, household size, household type, number of children were significant factors affecting food expenditure in Korean household. Findings on these food consumption analyses are expected to provide useful information understanding Korean consumers¡ expenditure patterns and developing appropriate policy.

Despite significant poverty reduction over the past decade, undernutrition in Myanmar remains widespread. Food prices play an important role in influencing diets and nutrition outcomes, especially for poorer households. In this study, we use national household food expenditure data to assess dietary patterns and estimate regional costs of nutritious diets in Myanmar relative to a recommended diet derived from food-based dietary guidelines. We estimate these costs following the cost of a recommended diet method (CoRD), which is based on minimum food group prices. We also develop and demonstrate an extension of this method using food group prices that reflect typical food consumption preferences (CoRD-FP). We assess the affordability of the recommended diet by comparing observed household food expenditure to the CoRD and the CoRD-FP. In 2015, 52 percent of the Myanmar population lived in households with food expenditure below the CoRD-FP, compared to 70 percent in 2010. Even the CoRD, which measures the lowest possible cost of meeting the recommended diet, exceeded household food expenditure for 32 and 24 percent of the population in 2010 and 2015, respectively. Low affordability is driven by high costs of animal-source foods and vegetables, which account for half the CoRD-FP. A majority of households over-consume staples and under-consume micronutrient-dense food groups. This imbalance is driven in part by the high caloric price of nutrient-dense foods relative to rice. The inability of more than half of households in Myanmar to afford a recommended diet at existing food expenditure levels suggests the need for policies that reduce the prices of micronutrient-dense foods, ideally through pro-poor improvements in agricultural productivity and marketing.

This study examines the effects of off‐farm income on food expenditures of rural Bangladeshi households. Our analysis yields unbiased estimates of the unconditional impact of off‐farm income on food expenditures and reveals the heterogeneous effects that occur across the distribution of total food consumption expenditures. The findings suggest that the impacts of off‐farm income are uniformly positive across the unconditional quantile regression and significantly increase food consumption expenditures for all quantiles, except for the 25th quantile. In addition, we found that schooling, experience, and location of the household increase the food expenditures of rural households. Most importantly, this article argues that female‐headed rural households in which the female works off the farm tend to have significantly lower food expenditures.

In 2010, Iran became the first major oil-exporting country to reduce substantially implicit energy subsidies by increasing domestic energy and agricultural prices by up to 20 times. The current research aims to evaluate the profound impact of the countywide implementation of this targeted subsidy reform (TSR) on the consumption patterns of households in Iran, specifically in relation to the consumption of healthy food commodities. This study employed a robust approach to examine the impact of the TSR on household food consumption, as a natural experiment, using pooled cross-section data from the Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) spanning the years 1992 to 2019. The analysis was based on a comprehensive interpretation of survey data, which served as the primary source for analysis. The estimation procedure utilized an interrupted time series (ITS) model to capture the parameters associated with food consumption. The findings revealed a substantial increase in household expenditures on food immediately following the policy intervention, with an impressive rise of 823 thousand Rials (equivalent to approximately $6.36 based on the floating exchange rate in 2019). Furthermore, the results strongly indicate a significant annual upward trend in total monthly food expenditures per adult person, surpassing the pre-intervention trend by 441 thousand Rials (approximately $3.40) (P=0.044, CI=[12.86, 1016.81]). Moreover, the implementation of the policy led to an annual per capita increase in fruit consumption by 1.02 grams per day (P=0.225, CI=[-0.68; 2.72]). This study shows that the initial positive effects of the TSR have gradually been eroded by inflation in subsequent years. This experience can serve as a lesson for all countries that TSR should be accompanied by other measures, such as poverty alleviation interventions, in order to achieve desired long-term results.

:Evidence points to a direct relationship between nutritional quality and foodexpenditure. However, food expenditure is highly susceptible to changes, andnutritional quality of household food presents limited evidence. The aim of thisstudy was to assess the relationship between nutritional quality available andtotal food expenditure in Peruvian households, and whether there weredifferences by area (urban and rural) and between years of the COVID-19pandemic. For this, we used Peru’s National Household Survey(ENAHO) from 2019 and 2020. We assessed total food expenditure in US dollars perday, whereas household nutritional quality available was assessed based ondietary diversity and compliance with the household calorie requirements,percentage of food expenditure, and potential confounders. We used the Student’st-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), linear regression, and the Wald test toassess the interaction effect. Households with adequate total/partialnutritional quality available by area were found to spend, on average, USD 2.00more in urban than in rural areas and, by year, they presented 7.1% morepercentage of food expenditure in 2020 than in 2019. Despite associationsexisting between nutritional quality available and total food expenditure byyear and study area, the effect modification was only present by study area. Inmultivariable model, households with adequate total/partial nutritional qualityavailable consistently presented a lower total food expenditure by year, with alower total food expenditure in urban areas. An inverse relationship was foundbetween nutritional quality available and total food expenditure, in contrast tothe direct relationship of studies assessing dietary cost and nutritionalquality. Our results reflect the nutritional deficit in the food purchases ofPeruvian households.

In Ethiopia, India, and Peru, Household Expenditures on Fats Are More Strongly Associated with Children’s Future Heights Than Expenditures on Other Food Groups (P10-006-19)

The paper investigates food consumption patterns including total food expenditures and food budget shares, sources of food, food expenditures by major food group and expenditures for food consumed outside the households. The survey with households was conducted in 2007. The survey was performed through face to face interviews with 386 households from the provinces. Of the total household expenditures, an average of 42.29% constituted food expenditures. Food expenditures varied among food groups as well. Milk and dairy products, meat, poultry, fish and other meat products as well as floury foods had the largest share in expenditures. As expected, the value of food expenditures increased with household size and income. About 56.44% of total monthly expenditure of rural households represents the value of consumption from own resources. The average daily food consumption of rural households is about 3519 calories for adults. Approximately 55% of the daily calorie intake is composed of cereals and floury foods whereas 4.60% is composed of meat and fish and 1.42% is composed of vegetable group of foods. Key words: Food consumption, food consumption patterns, rural diet.