Socioeconomic Factors Affecting Food Consumption and Nutrition in China: Empirical Evidence During the 1989–2009 Period

This article examines the socioeconomic determinants of food and macronutrient consumption, in light of the Chinese experience in the past two decades. A panel regression using data during the 1989–2009 period provides a long-term trajectory of dietary characteristics. Quantile regressions characterize factors associated with excessive or inadequate consumption levels. The empirical results suggest that first, the consumptions of animal foods, fresh fruit, and dairy products increase and that of cereals decreases in response to income growth. People with low consumption levels are more responsive to changes in income. Second, the better educated favor lower-calorie diets with more animal foods, fruit, and dairy but less cereals. Third, the rural-urban divide is large. While urban dwellers consume more animal foods, fresh fruit, and dairy products, their intakes of energy and carbohydrates are well below those of their rural counterparts. In addition, the article provides some insight into how China’s food consumption patterns differ from those of the United States.