Posts Tagged “physical fitness”
Many factors have affected food consumption patterns over the last 25 years.
In Tracking Demographics and U.S. Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Patterns, a 2011 report has a list that is lengthy.
Roberta Cook, cooperative extension specialist and lecturer in the Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics at the University of California-Davis, writes about key trends that affect food consumption, including:
* demand for foods of high and predictable quality offering convenience and variety;
* growing demand for freshness and foods with higher flavor profiles;
* a willingness to experiment both in restaurants and in the home;
* the changing ethnic composition of the population, which has expanded demand for Asian and Hispanic commodities;
* the growth in public knowledge about how diet and health are linked;
* the importance of maintaining physical fitness throughout life;
* the simultaneous trend toward higher rates of obesity;
* an exploding research base on the specific phytonutrients/antioxidants associated with individual fruits and vegetables and their potential protective health benefits;
* a higher public sector profile and policy engagement on U.S. health issues to the benefit of fruits and vegetables, such as MyPlate;
* and growing consumer interest in where and how food is produced.
Cook points out the changing ethnic makeup of the U.S. population is definitely favorable to fresh produce consumption, since Hispanic and Asian Americans consume fruits and vegetables at higher rates than African Americans and whites.