The Effect of Demographic , Economic , and Nutrition Factors on the Frequency of Food

Food away from home, especially fast food, is often cited as contributing to rising obesity. This negative publicity can affect the demand for restaurant meals. In this study econometric models explaining visits to table service and fast food restaurants are estimated. The explanatory variables include not only standard demographic and economic measures but also measures of nutrition knowledge, attitudes, and concerns. Effects for the former are similar to those found in past studies. For nutrition factors, we find only limited impact for table service, but there is strong evidence that nutrition-orientated consumers tend to have lower fast food consumption.