Longitudinal changes in income are associated with the healthiness and sustainability of foods purchased in Mexican households

Abstract Objective: To estimate the within-households association between change in income over time and food purchases in a national panel of households. The need to shift towards healthy and sustainable diets is widely recognised, thus the importance of identifying the factors that influence foo...

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Main Authors: Carolina Batis, Analí Castellanos-Gutiérrez, M Arantxa Colchero, Juan A. Rivera
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press 2025-01-01
Series:Public Health Nutrition
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Online Access:https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1368980025100700/type/journal_article
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author Carolina Batis
Analí Castellanos-Gutiérrez
M Arantxa Colchero
Juan A. Rivera
author_facet Carolina Batis
Analí Castellanos-Gutiérrez
M Arantxa Colchero
Juan A. Rivera
author_sort Carolina Batis
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Objective: To estimate the within-households association between change in income over time and food purchases in a national panel of households. The need to shift towards healthy and sustainable diets is widely recognised, thus the importance of identifying the factors that influence food purchase decisions. Design: Longitudinal observational study; for each of the thirty-three food items queried, we ran a conditional logistic fixed-effect regression model to evaluate the association between change in income per-capita and food purchases (yes/no) during the past week, adjusted by covariates. Setting: Mexican Family Life Survey. Participants: 6008 households that participated in the survey for at least two of the three available waves of study (2002, 2005 and 2009). Results: Within-households, the OR (95 % CI) of purchasing the food in the past week for an increase in 1 sd of income was 1·09 (1·02, 1·16) for rarer fruits (other than bananas, apples and oranges); 1·11 (1·04, 1·18) for beef; 1·06 (1·00, 1·13) for canned tuna/sardines; 1·09 (1·02, 1·18) for fish/shellfish; 1·08 (1·02, 1·16) for discretionary packaged products and 1·15 (1·08, 1·23) for soft drinks. There were some differences by urban/rural area or socio-economic status (SES); mainly, those with lower SES had increased odds of purchasing the food item in more cases (ten out of thirty-three food items). Conclusions: Households’ income growth can have mixed effects on the healthiness and sustainability of food purchases. Public policies to improve the food environment and nutrition education are necessary to enhance the positive and counteract the negative effect of income.
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spelling doaj-art-8780e3ff22b64a80a62614df7d49936f2025-08-20T03:03:49ZengCambridge University PressPublic Health Nutrition1368-98001475-27272025-01-012810.1017/S1368980025100700Longitudinal changes in income are associated with the healthiness and sustainability of foods purchased in Mexican householdsCarolina Batis0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2823-6651Analí Castellanos-Gutiérrez1M Arantxa Colchero2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4891-7120Juan A. Rivera3Nutrition and Health Research Center, National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Morelos, MexicoNutrition and Health Research Center, National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USACenter for Health Systems Research, National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Morelos, MexicoPopulation Health Research Center, National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico Abstract Objective: To estimate the within-households association between change in income over time and food purchases in a national panel of households. The need to shift towards healthy and sustainable diets is widely recognised, thus the importance of identifying the factors that influence food purchase decisions. Design: Longitudinal observational study; for each of the thirty-three food items queried, we ran a conditional logistic fixed-effect regression model to evaluate the association between change in income per-capita and food purchases (yes/no) during the past week, adjusted by covariates. Setting: Mexican Family Life Survey. Participants: 6008 households that participated in the survey for at least two of the three available waves of study (2002, 2005 and 2009). Results: Within-households, the OR (95 % CI) of purchasing the food in the past week for an increase in 1 sd of income was 1·09 (1·02, 1·16) for rarer fruits (other than bananas, apples and oranges); 1·11 (1·04, 1·18) for beef; 1·06 (1·00, 1·13) for canned tuna/sardines; 1·09 (1·02, 1·18) for fish/shellfish; 1·08 (1·02, 1·16) for discretionary packaged products and 1·15 (1·08, 1·23) for soft drinks. There were some differences by urban/rural area or socio-economic status (SES); mainly, those with lower SES had increased odds of purchasing the food item in more cases (ten out of thirty-three food items). Conclusions: Households’ income growth can have mixed effects on the healthiness and sustainability of food purchases. Public policies to improve the food environment and nutrition education are necessary to enhance the positive and counteract the negative effect of income. https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1368980025100700/type/journal_articleMexicoFood purchasesIncomeHealthySustainable
spellingShingle Carolina Batis
Analí Castellanos-Gutiérrez
M Arantxa Colchero
Juan A. Rivera
Longitudinal changes in income are associated with the healthiness and sustainability of foods purchased in Mexican households
Public Health Nutrition
Mexico
Food purchases
Income
Healthy
Sustainable
title Longitudinal changes in income are associated with the healthiness and sustainability of foods purchased in Mexican households
title_full Longitudinal changes in income are associated with the healthiness and sustainability of foods purchased in Mexican households
title_fullStr Longitudinal changes in income are associated with the healthiness and sustainability of foods purchased in Mexican households
title_full_unstemmed Longitudinal changes in income are associated with the healthiness and sustainability of foods purchased in Mexican households
title_short Longitudinal changes in income are associated with the healthiness and sustainability of foods purchased in Mexican households
title_sort longitudinal changes in income are associated with the healthiness and sustainability of foods purchased in mexican households
topic Mexico
Food purchases
Income
Healthy
Sustainable
url https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1368980025100700/type/journal_article
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AT marantxacolchero longitudinalchangesinincomeareassociatedwiththehealthinessandsustainabilityoffoodspurchasedinmexicanhouseholds
AT juanarivera longitudinalchangesinincomeareassociatedwiththehealthinessandsustainabilityoffoodspurchasedinmexicanhouseholds