Food price and weight management

January 01, 0001

Food price and weight management

This 20-year longitudinal study by US authors included 12,123 respondent days from 5115 participants in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study. Associations between food price, dietary intake, overall energy intake, weight, and homeostatic model assessment insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) scores were assessed using conditional log-log and linear regression models.

They found: "The real price (inflated to 2006 US dollars) of soda and pizza decreased over time. The price of whole milk increased. A 10% increase in the price of soda or pizza was associated with a -7.12% or -11.5% change in energy from these foods, respectively. A $1.00 increase in soda price was also associated with lower daily energy intake (-124 kcal), lower weight (-1.05 kg), and lower HOMA-IR score (0.42); similar trends were observed for pizza. A $1.00 increase in the price of both soda and pizza was associated with greater changes in total energy intake (-181.49 kcal), body weight (-1.65 kg), and HOMA-IR (-0.45)."

The authors concluded: "Policies aimed at altering the price of soda or away-from-home pizza may be effective mechanisms to steer US adults toward a more healthful diet and help reduce long-term weight gain or insulin levels over time."

Taxes on these kinds of foods or elimination of subsidies could be helpful approaches to promote health according to these data.

For the full abstract, click here.

Arch Intern Med 170(5):420-426, 8 March 2010 © 2010 to the American Medical Association
Food Price and Diet and Health Outcomes-20 Years of the CARDIA Study. Kiyah J. Duffey, Penny Gordon-Larsen, James M. Shikany, David Guilkey, David R. Jacobs Jr, Barry M. Popkin. Correspondence to Dr. Popkin: [email protected]

Category: T. Endocrine/Metabolic/Nutritional. Keywords: food, cost, caloric intake, weight, insulin resistance, observational study, journal watch.
Synopsis edited by Dr Linda French, Toledo, Ohio. Posted on Global Family Doctor 23 March 2010

Pearls are an independent product of the Cochrane primary care group and are meant for educational use and not to guide clinical care.

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