Gender, marital status, and commercially prepared food expenditure.

OBJECTIVE

Assess how per capita expenditure on commercially prepared food as a proportion of total food expenditure varies by the sex and marital status of the head of the household.

DESIGN

Prospective cohort study, data collected by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics 2004 Consumer Expenditure Survey.

SETTING

United States.

PARTICIPANTS

Randomly selected nationally representative sample of 5744 US citizens.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Per capita spending on commercially prepared food (dependent variable) for every $1 increase in total per capita food spending (independent variable).

ANALYSIS

Linear regressions run separately for each permutation of gender and marital status (never married, married, divorced/separated).

RESULTS

Proportionate per capita household expenditure on commercially prepared food was found to vary by marital status and gender. Households headed by unmarried men (both divorced/separated and never married) spent a significantly greater proportion of their food budget on commercially prepared food than their married male peers (38% and 60% higher, respectively). Regardless of marital status, households headed by women were found to spend approximately one-third of their total food budget on commercially prepared foods outside the home. Households headed by never married men spent 63% more per capita than those headed by never married women and households headed by divorced or separated men spent 37% more than those headed by divorced or separated women.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

Marital status is significantly related to the dietary patterns of households headed by men. In light of the high rates of divorce, separation, and delay of marriage, marriage cannot be considered an inclusive or permanent solution to changing male eating patterns. It is important that nutrition educators learn more about the dietary patterns of households headed by males outside the institution of marriage.