Food Choices & Health

Diet Quality & Nutrition
ERS examines factors driving dietary choices and the economic consequences of nutritional and health outcomes.
Consumer Information and Labeling
ERS examines the effects of nutrition information provision and education programs on food choices and dietary outcomes; consumers' use of food labels and impacts on food choices and dietary outcomes; and the effects of new label information on the supply of labeled foods, retail prices, and manufacturing and farm production practices.
Food Access
ERS conducts research on access and barriers to affordable, healthy food, and the consequences of limited food access on food spending, diet, and health.
Food Consumption & Demand
ERS provides economic analyses of trends, dietary patterns, and the relationship between food intake and nutritional/health outcomes such as obesity.
Obesity
ERS examines the role of economic incentives in food choices, how dietary patterns contribute to obesity, and what effects obesity policies could have on producer and consumer incentives and health outcomes.
Consumer Food Data System (CFDS)
ERS established the Consumer Food Data System (CFDS) to support the USDA’s strategic goal of providing all U.S. consumers with access to a safe, nutritious, and secure food supply. CFDS resources enable intramural and extramural researchers to examine issues and questions related to food markets, food and nutrition programs, food security, food safety, and consumer food and nutrition choices and their health outcomes.

The National School Lunch Program: Background, Trends, and Issues, 2024 Edition Who Shops for Groceries Online? Utilizing the USDA’s National Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey to Calculate a Household-Level Food Environment Measure The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC): Background, Trends, and Economic Issues, 2024 Edition Amber Waves: 2023 Year in Review

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Researchers Adjust Self-Reported Estimates of Obesity in Scanner Data People Working From Home During the Pandemic Spent Less Time Eating Away From Home Racial and Ethnic Diversification Will Likely Shape U.S. Food Demand and Diet Quality Grazing Increases Daily Caloric Intake and Dietary Quality Consumers’ Interpretation of Food Labels with Production Claims Can Influence Purchases

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Food Consumption, Nutrient Intakes, and Diet Quality Food Availability (Per Capita) Data System Eating and Health Module (ATUS) FoodAPS National Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey Food Environment Atlas

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Food & Nutrition Assistance Food Markets & Prices Food Safety