Expenditure of private households on nutrition

Peer-reviewed / Manuscript (original contribution) received: August 22, 2018 / Revision accepted: May 13, 2019

An analysis based on data from the 2013 German household budget survey

Research interest

Expenditure on nutrition represents part of the costs of food and providing meals1 in private households. Its level directly affects how households manage on their income. Although the proportion of private consumer spending on nutrition (including catering services) has been steadily reducing since the 1960s, nevertheless at almost 18% (in 2013) it is still the second largest outgoing for household budgets after rent, energy and home maintenance [1, 2]. So, within the framework of educational and advisory work on the subject of household budgeting, (statistical) comparisons for food spending are particularly important in order to illustrate case examples or evaluate data relating to individual cases [3].

These reference figures must be prepared so as to ensure the comparability of individual and statistical data for as many different household situations as possible. For this, socio-demographic and economic characteristics for differentiation are of central importance. In addition, it is desirable that the data represents the nutritional preferences of the various household members and the basic values that inform eating habits in everyday life and on special occasions, such as religious festivals and celebrations (lifestyles). The amount of money needed to provide nutrition is also still dependent upon whether food preparation is done predominantly in the household or whether this is supplemented or substituted to a greater or lesser extent by catering services [4, 5].

Abstract

Societal changes in eating behaviour are often described by trends. But the household situations behind these are still complex and can be represented precisely by expenditure on nutrition. A secondary analysis of data from the German household budget survey of 2013 conducted by the German Federal Statistical Office shows the level and composition of the average outgoings on nutrition in various private household constellations. Both socio-demographic and economic factors have an impact on the monetary aspects of everyday eating habits and the other social functions of food. In a time comparison of the last 15 years the significance of eating outside the home has increased, particularly in family households. The calculations presented provide data on nutrition expenditure which has not been examined in statistical analyses up to now and for which, consequently, there are few possibilities for comparison.

Keywords: eating outside the home, nutrition expenditure, eating habits, consumer spending, lifestyle, private household

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