Socio-economic patterning of expenditures on ‘out-of-home’ food and non-alcoholic beverages by product and place of purchase in Britain

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112361Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Out-of-home (OOH) purchases make up 25–39% of food and non-alcoholic beverage spend.

  • Mid- and high-SES group spend more on OOH foods compared to low-SES group.

  • Beyond meals, 38–39% of OOH expenditures are spent on drinks and snacks.

  • Low-, mid-SES group spent relatively more on fast food and takeaway and soft drinks.

  • High-SES groups spend relatively more in restaurants and cafes and on hot beverages.

Abstract

While most food is consumed at home, food eaten out-of-home plays an important role in diets and it has been associated with higher energy intake and higher body weight. Beyond prepared meals, there is limited understanding of what foods people buy out-of-home and where they buy them from. This study analyses out-of-home food purchases by food groups and food outlet types, and estimates socio-economic differences in these expenditure patterns. We used a nationally representative product-level dataset of expenditures (n=2,734,987) on foods and non-alcoholic beverages for out-of-home consumption for 9,704 respondents in Great Britain (June 2015-December 2017). Population weighted estimates of per capita weekly expenditures and shares of expenditure were derived for four outlet types and eight food groups. We used linear multi-level modelling to determine differences in expenditure patterns by socio-economic status (SES) characterised via occupational social grade. Out-of-home purchases make up 25-39% of total food and beverage expenditures. Mid- and high-SES respondents spent nearly twice as much (£17.76 and £15.11 weekly), compared to low-SES respondents (£9.69) for out-ofhome food consumption. A third of expenditures across SES (36-37%) were spent in venues other than restaurants or fast-food and takeaway outlets. Meals accounted for 60% of expenditures, but a third was spent on beverages (10-12% non-alcoholic cold beverages, 17-18% hot beverages) and 9-10% on snacks. Mid- and low-SES respondents had a greater share of expenditure in takeaway and fast-food outlets, supermarkets and convenience stores, and on cold non-alcoholic beverages. Overall, low-SES respondents spent less on out-of-home foods but the share of this expenditure across different foods or outlets varied less. While restaurants, fast-food and takeaway outlets were a major source of out-of-home purchases, a significant proportion was spent in other outlets. Policies targeting out-of-home consumption should therefore consider the full range of foods as well as the diversity of places where they are sold.

Section snippets

Background

Diets with high intake of added sugars, salt and saturated fats, as well as low intake of fruit, vegetables and fibre are key risk-factors for obesity, diabetes and associated non-communicable disease globally (GBD, 2016). In the UK, more than 27% of the adult population and 17% of 2–15 year old children are obese (NHS Digital, 2018) with diet-related ill-health overall thought to account for 12% of total mortality (BMA, 2016). While most food is consumed at home, food eaten out-of-home (e.g.

Panel

The data are from Kantar FMCG, a nationally representative live panel of approximately 30,000 British households that records household expenditures at the product-level, including on foods and beverages purchased and taken home (the take-home panel). A subsample of this panel (approximately 6000 households annually) also records food purchase data for out-of-home consumption since mid-2015 (Kantar FMCG) which is the primary subject of this study (take-home purchase data was used only to

Results

Throughout the 2.5 year period we observed n = 2,734,987 purchases. On average, 34% of the 8326 households reported purchases in at least 24 months, 58% at least for 12 months and 71% for six months. Table 1 shows the descriptive statistics of the full sample either at individual or household level, depending on its measurement.

Table 2 shows population-level per capita estimates for weekly out-of-home expenditures and a comparison to take-home food expenditures. During the study period,

By food outlet

All SES groups spent the greatest share of their out-of-home expenditure in restaurants and cafes, ranging between 40% for low-SES and 47% in high-SES respondents (Fig. 1A). Expenditure share in fast-food and takeaway outlets showed a reverse pattern with the lowest share of 17% in high-SES respondents in comparison to 27% in low-SES respondents. Expenditure share in supermarkets and convenience stores appeared marginally greater for low-SES respondents but did not vary for ‘other’ outlets.

For

By food outlet

Differences in preferences by SES were clear for purchases from cafes and restaurants as well as fast-food and takeaway outlets (Table 3), showing only a small attenuation when compared to the population-level estimates (Fig. 1, Fig. 2). Mid- and low-SES respondents spent a lower share of their expenditure in cafes and restaurants (−3.5 percent points (pp); (95%CI -4.9;-1.9); and −7.1pp: (95%CI -9.0;-5.1)), but a higher share in fast-food and takeaway outlets (2.4pp; 95%CI 1.4; 3.5 and 7.3pp;

Frequency of out-of-home purchases and socio-economic differences

The patterns in frequency of purchases across food outlets broadly repeats those observed in expenditure share (Fig. 3). A third of high-SES respondents (31%, 95%CI 29; 33) purchased from cafes and restaurants once a week or more often, dropping to a quarter (24%, 95%CI 22; 27) for low-SES respondents. For fast-food and takeaway outlets this reverses with 14% (95%CI 13; 16) of high-SES respondents purchasing from these outlets once a week or more often in comparison to 21% (95%CI 19; 23) of

Discussion

To our knowledge, this is the first paper to comprehensively detail socio-economic differences in out-of-home expenditure in Britain by food outlet and food and beverage category. We found that across all SES groups, measured through occupational social grade, out-of-home expenditure ranged from 25 to 39% of total food and non-alcoholic beverage expenditures. Across outlet type or food group, level of expenditure varied substantially by SES, with low-SES respondents spending much less (£9.69 in

Conclusion

Out-of-home food consumption accounts for up to 39% of food expenditures with the majority spent in cafes, restaurants and fast-food takeaways. However, over a third of out-of-home expenditure was spent in a diverse range of food retail outlets, including supermarkets and convenience stores that are not a current major policy target. Beyond meals, which make up more than half of out-of-home expenditure, a further 38–39% was spent on beverages and snacks. While low-SES households spent less on

Funding

LC and NB are funded via UK Medical Research Council(MR/P021999/1). Funding body had no involvement in study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; and in the decision to submit the article for publication.

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