Release No. 0060.99 

Media Contact: Andy Solomon (202) 720-4623
andy.solomon@usda.gov

Public Contact: John Snyder (202) 694-5138
jsnyder@econ.ag.gov

USDA REPORT ENCOURAGES AMERICANS TO REMEMBER NUTRITIONAL NEEDS WHEN EATING OUT

WASHINGTON, Feb. 16, 1999-- Increasingly, America's family dining table is not at home, but at a fast food outlet or restaurant. Yet, according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the nutritional content of meals eaten away from home is failing to keep pace with nutritional improvements in home-prepared foods. 

Compared with home-prepared foods, food made outside of the home contains more of the nutrients that Americans overconsume, such as fat and saturated fat, and less of those that they underconsume, such as calcium, fiber, and iron.

According to Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman, "Americans should be aware of this nutritional gap. It reinforces the need for nutrition information and education in schools and at home, so that everyone can make more healthful food choices."

The report, "Away-from-Home Foods Increasingly Important to Quality of American Diet," finds 

The frequency of dining out rose by more than two-thirds over the past two decades, from 16 percent of all meals and snacks in 1977-78 to 27 percent in 1995.

Fat contributed 31.5 percent of calories in home foods, but 37.6 percent in away-from-home foods. While the percentages of calories attributed to fat and saturated fat in both home and away-from-home foods have been falling in recent years, the decline has been sharper among home-prepared foods.

The fiber content of away-from-home foods was 25 percent less than that of home foods.

Calcium content of home foods was close to the nutritional benchmark, but away-from-home foods were more than 20 percent below the benchmark. School foods were even richer in calcium than home foods.

Low iron intake is common among teenage girls and young women, who face the highest requirements and typically have low food consumption. For this group, food eaten away from home had an iron density 29 percent below the nutritional benchmark.

Meals served in school cafeterias tended to be lower in total fat and higher in calcium and dietary fiber than other meals. 


Improved diets could help prevent heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis-related hip fractures, and neural tube birth defects.  The report estimates that improved diets could save $5.1 to $10.6 billion each year in medical care costs, missed work, and premature deaths associated with osteoporosis-related hip fractures alone. 

"Healthy eating is important for every person, every day," said Glickman. 

USDA places a high priority on improving Americans' diets. Improved nutrition in school meals is a major goal of USDA's Team Nutrition student education campaign and the USDA-administered National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs, and summer meals and after-school snack programs. 

The report, published by USDA's Economic Research Service, says nutrition education programs should focus more on helping consumers understand the dietary implications of away-from-home dining, and how to make more healthful food choices when eating out. 

The report is available at http://www.ers.usda.gov or by calling 1-800-999-6779. 

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