Patterns of household food expenditures: a cluster analysis

In this study we use the Diary Survey component of the 2001 and 2002 Consumer Expenditure Survey to investigate patterns of household food expenditures. We identify eight constellations of food expenditures that are more and less likely to be associated with healthy eating habits. These clusters include: Balanced, Full-service-dominated, Fast-food-dominated, Meat-eater, Miscellaneous-foods-dominated, Alcohol-dominated, Beverage-dominated, and Food-at-work-dominated. Only 29% of the households are in the Balanced cluster, which is likely to represent the most healthy eating pattern. A full 40% of the households are in one of the three food-away-fromhome clusters. Exploratory multivariate analysis shows that younger households are more likely to be in the Fast-food-dominated cluster, single male-headed households more likely to be in the Alcohol-dominated cluster, and minorities more likely to be in the Meat-eater cluster. Adult work hours and income-to-needs ratios are found to be positively associated with membership in the Full-service and Fast-food clusters.