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Changes in Household Diet: Determinants and Predictability

Author

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  • Stefan Hut
  • Emily Oster

Abstract

We use grocery purchase data to analyze dietary changes. We show that households – including those with more income or education - do not improve diet in response to disease diagnosis or changes in household circumstances. We then identify households who show large improvements in diet quality. We use machine learning to predict these households and find (1) concentration of baseline diet in a small number of foods is a predictor of improvement and (2) dietary changes are concentrated in a small number of foods. We argue these patterns may be well fit by a model which incorporates attention costs.

Suggested Citation

  • Stefan Hut & Emily Oster, 2018. "Changes in Household Diet: Determinants and Predictability," NBER Working Papers 24892, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:24892
    Note: EH
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    Cited by:

    1. Michael J. Weir & Thomas W. Sproul, 2019. "Identifying Drivers of Genetically Modified Seafood Demand: Evidence from a Choice Experiment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(14), pages 1-21, July.
    2. Hut, Stefan, 2020. "Determinants of Dietary Choice in the US: Evidence from Consumer Migration," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    3. Ezgi Cengiz & Christian Rojas, 2024. "Are food manufacturers reducing sugar content? Evidence from scanner data," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 40(3), pages 571-595, July.
    4. Zoey Verdun, 2020. "Impact of a Health Shock on Lifestyle Behaviours," Economics Working Papers ECO 2020/02, European University Institute.
    5. Aguilar, Arturo & Gutierrez, Emilio & Seira, Enrique, 2021. "The effectiveness of sin food taxes: Evidence from Mexico," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    6. Emily Oster, 2020. "Health Recommendations and Selection in Health Behaviors," American Economic Review: Insights, American Economic Association, vol. 2(2), pages 143-160, June.
    7. Cengiz, Ezgi & Rojas, Christian, 2024. "What drives the reduction in sodium intake? Evidence from scanner data," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    8. Yiqun Chen & Petra Persson & Maria Polyakova, 2019. "The Roots of Health Inequality and The Value of Intra-Family Expertise," NBER Working Papers 25618, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Hartung, Corinna & Veramendi, Gregory F. & Winter, Joachim, 2022. "The Dynamics of Behavioral Responses During a Crisis," Rationality and Competition Discussion Paper Series 333, CRC TRR 190 Rationality and Competition.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior

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