Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-94fs2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T10:48:41.220Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The relationship between low income and household food expenditure patterns in Canada

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 August 2007

Sharon Kirkpatrick  and
Valerie Tarasuk
Sharon Kirkpatrick
Affiliation:
Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaM5S 3E2
Valerie Tarasuk*
Affiliation:
Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaM5S 3E2
*
*Corresponding author: Email valerie.tarasuk@utoronto.ca
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.
Objectives:

To compare food expenditure patterns between low-income households and higher- income households in the Canadian population, and to examine the relationship between food expenditure patterns and the presence or absence of housing payments among low-income households.

Design:

Secondary data analysis of the 1996 Family Food Expenditure Survey conducted by Statistics Canada.

Setting:

Sociodemographic data and 1-week food expenditure data for 9793 households were analysed.

Subjects:

Data were collected from a nationally representative sample drawn through stratified multistage sampling. Low-income households were identified using Statistics Canada's Low Income Measures.

Results:

Total food expenditures, expenditures at stores and expenditures in restaurants were lower among low-income households compared with other households. Despite allocating a slightly greater proportion of their food dollars to milk products, low-income households purchased significantly fewer servings of these foods. They also purchased fewer servings of fruits and vegetables than did higher-income households. The effect of low income on milk product purchases persisted when the sample was stratified by education and expenditure patterns were examined in relation to income within strata. Among low-income households, the purchase of milk products and meat and alternatives was significantly lower for households that had to pay rents or mortgages than for those without housing payments.

Conclusions:

Our findings indicate that, among Canadian households, access to milk products and fruits and vegetables may be constrained in the context of low incomes. This study highlights the need for greater attention to the affordability of nutritious foods for low-income groups.

Keywords

Household food expendituresIncomeCanada
Type
Research Article
Information
Public Health Nutrition , Volume 6 , Issue 6 , September 2003 , pp. 589 - 597
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2003

References

1Bolton-Smith, C, Smith, WCS, Woodward, M, Tunstall-Pedoe, H. Nutrient intakes of different social-class groups: results from the Scottish Heart Health Study (SHHS). British Journal of Nutrition 1990; 65: 321–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2Braddon, FEM, Wadsworth, MEJ, Davies, JMC, Cripps, HA. Social and regional differences in food and alcohol consumption and their measurement in a national birth cohort. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 1988; 42: 341–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
3Davey Smith, G, Brunner, E. Socio-economic differentials in health: the role of nutrition. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 1997; 56: 75–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
4Hupkens, CLH, Knibbe, RA, Drop, MJ. Social class differences in women's fat and fibre consumption: a cross-national study. Appetite 1997; 28: 131–49.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
5James, WP, Nelson, M, Ralph, A, Leather, S. The contribution of nutrition to inequalities in health. British Medical Journal 1997; 314: 1545–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6Krebs-Smith, SM, Cook, A, Subar, AF, Cleveland, L, Friday, J. US adult's fruit and vegetable intakes, 1989–1991: a revised baseline for the Healthy People 2000 objective. American Journal of Public Health 1995; 85: 1623–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
7Patterson, B, Block, G, Rosenberger, W, Pee, D, Kahle, LL. Fruit and vegetables in the American diet: data from NHANES II survey. American Journal of Public Health 1990; 80: 1443–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
8Popkin, BM, Siega-Riz, AM, Haines, PS. A comparison of dietary trends among racial and socioeconomic groups in the United States. New England Journal of Medicine 1996; 335: 716–20.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9Pryer, J, Brunner, E, Elliott, P, Nichols, R, Dimond, H, Marmot, M. Who complied with COMA 1984 dietary fat recommendations among a nationally representative sample of British adults in 1986–7 and what did they eat? European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1995; 49: 718–28.Google ScholarPubMed
10Smith, AM, Baghurst, KI. Public health implications of dietary differences between social status and occupational category groups. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 1992; 46: 409–16.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
11Hamelin, AM, Beaudry, M, Habicht, JP. La vulnerabilite des menages a l'insecurite alimentaire. Revue Canadienne D'etudes du Development 1998; 19: 277–306.Google Scholar
12Hamelin, AM, Habicht, JP, Beaudry, M. Food insecurity: consequences for the household and broader social implications. Journal of Nutrition 1999; 129: 525S–8S.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
13Hamelin, AM, Beaudry, M, Habicht, JP. Characterization of household food insecurity in Quebec: food and feelings. Social Science & Medicine 2002; 54: 119–32.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
14McIntyre, L, Raine, K, Glanville, T, Dayle, J, Workman, T, Anderson, B, et al. Hungry Mothers of Barely Fed Children: A Summary Report of a CIHR/NHDRP Project on the Diets and Food Experiences of Low-income Lone Mothers in Atlantic Canada in Relation to their Children. Halifax, Nova Scotia: Dalhousie University, 2001.Google Scholar
15Tarasuk, V, Maclean, H. The food problems of low-income single mothers: and ethnographic study. Canadian Home Economics Journal 1990; 40(2): 76–82.Google Scholar
16Travers, KD. The social organization of nutritional inequities. Social Science & Medicine 1996; 43: 543–53.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
17Tarasuk, VS, Beaton, GH. Women's dietary intakes in the context of household food insecurity. Journal of Nutrition 1999; 129: 672–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
18Badun, C, Evers, SE, Hooper, M. Food security and nutritional concerns of parents in an economically disadventaged community. Journal of the Canadian Dietetic Association 1995; 56: 75–80.Google Scholar
19Doran, L, Evers, S. Energy and nutrient inadequacies in the diets of low-income women who breast-feed. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 1997; 97: 1283–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
20Evers, SE, Hooper, MD. Dietary intake and anthropometric status of 7 to 9 year old children in economically disadvantaged communities in Ontario. Journal of the American College of Nutrition 1995; 14(6): 595–603.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
21Jacobs Starkey, L, Kuhnlein, H, Gray-Donald, K. Food bank users: sociodemographic and nutritional characteristics. Canadian Medical Association Journal 1998; 158(9): 1143–9.Google Scholar
22Jacobs Starkey, L, Gray-Donald, K, Kuhnlein, HV. Nutrient intake of food bank users is related to frequency of food bank use, household size, smoking, education and country of birth. Journal of Nutrition 1999; 129: 883–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
23Jacobs Starkey, L, Kuhnlein, HV. Montreal food bank users' intakes compared with recommendations of Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating. Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research 2000; 61: 73–5.Google ScholarPubMed
24Tarasuk, VS. Household food insecurity with hunger is associated with women's food intakes, health, and household circumstances. Journal of Nutrition 2001; 131: 2670–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
25Travers, KD. Availability and cost of heart healthy diet changes in Nova Scotia. Journal of the Canadian Dietetic Association 1997; 58: 176–83.Google Scholar
26Campbell, CC, Horton, SE. Apparent nutrient intakes of Canadians: continuing nutritional challenges for public health professionals. Canadian Journal of Public Health 1991; 82: 374–80.Google ScholarPubMed
27Horton, S, Campbell, C. Do the poor pay more for food? Food Market Commentary 1990; 11: 33–9.Google Scholar
28Horton, S, Campbell, C. Wife's employment, food expenditures, and apparent nutrient intake: evidence from Canada. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 1991; 73: 784–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
29Horton, SE, Campbell, CC. Regional variations in apparent nutrient intake in urban Canada. Journal of the Canadian Dietetic Association 1992; 53: 19–23.Google Scholar
30Hunt, L. Socioeconomic profile and food expenditures of the single-parent family in Canada, 1974–1982. Food Market Commentary 1985; 7(4): 55–63.Google Scholar
31Simeon, DT, Patterson, AW. Use of food expenditure data to estimate household nutrient accessibility. West Indian Medical Journal 1996; 45: 25–7.Google ScholarPubMed
32Trichopoulou, A, Kanellou, A, Lagiou, P, Zintzaras, E, and the DAFNE I Group. Integration of nutritional data based on household budget surveys in European countries. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 1996; 55: 699–704.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
33Upton, PK, Gibney, MJ. Nutrient intakes in Ireland in 1980: estimates derived from household expenditure on food. Irish Journal of Medical Science 1987; 156(3): 83–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
34Statistics Canada Income Statistics Division. 1996 Food Expenditure Survey Public-use Microdata Files, Version 1. Ottawa, Ontario: Statistics Canada, 1999.Google Scholar
35Health and Welfare Canada. Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating. Ottawa, Ontario: Supply and Services Canada, 1992.Google Scholar
36Jacobs Starkey, L, Johnson-Down, L, Gray-Donald, K. Food habits of Canadians: comparison of intakes in adults and adolescents to Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating. Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research 2000; 62: 61–9.Google Scholar
37Goel, V. Analysis of complex surveys. Toronto, Ontario: Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, 1993 [unpublished].Google Scholar
38Statistics Canada Income Statistics Division. Low Income Cutoffs from 1990 to 1999 and Low Income Measures from 1989 to 1998. Catalogue No. 75F0002MIE-00017. Ottawa, Ontario: Statistics Canada, 2001.Google Scholar
39Institute of Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Vitamin D, and Fluoride. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1997.Google Scholar
40Dubois, L, Girard, M. Social position and nutrition: a gradient relationship in Canada and the USA. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2001; 55: 366–73.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
41Ghadirian, P, Shatenstein, B. Nutrient patterns, nutritional adequacy, and comparisons with nutrition recommendations among French-Canadian adults in Montreal. Journal of the American College of Nutrition 1996; 15: 255–63.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
42Lin, B, Guthrie, J, Frazão, E. Nutrient contribution of food away from home. In: Frazão, E, ed. America's Eating Habits: Changes & Consequences. Agriculture Information Bulletin No. 750. Washington, DC: Economic Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, 1999; 217–39.Google Scholar
43Guthrie, JF, Lin, B, Frazão, E. Role of food prepared away from home in the American diet, 1977–78 versus 1994–96: changes and consequences. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior 2002; 341: 40–150.Google Scholar
44Wilson, B, Steinman, C. HungerCount 2000: A Surplus of Hunger. Toronto, Ontario: Canadian Association of Food Banks, 2000.Google Scholar