New Year's res-illusions: food shopping in the new year competes with healthy intentions

Abstract

Objective: How do the holidays--and the possible New Year's resolutions that follow--influence a household's purchase patterns of healthier foods versus less healthy foods? This has important implications for both holiday food shopping and post-holiday shopping.

Methods: 207 households were recruited to participate in a randomized-controlled trial conducted at two regional-grocery chain locations in upstate New York. Item-level transaction records were tracked over a seven-month period (July 2010 to March 2011). The cooperating grocer's proprietary nutrient-rating system was used to designate "healthy," and "less healthy" items. Calorie data were extracted from online nutritional databases. Expenditures and calories purchased for the holiday period (Thanksgiving-New Year's), and the post-holiday period (New Year's-March), were compared to baseline (July-Thanksgiving) amounts.

Results: During the holiday season, household food expenditures increased 15% compared to baseline ($105.74 to $121.83; p<0.001), with 75% of additional expenditures accounted for by less-healthy items. Consistent with what one would expect from New Year's resolutions, sales of healthy foods increased 29.4% ($13.24/week) after the holiday season compared to baseline, and 18.9% ($9.26/week) compared to the holiday period. Unfortunately, sales of less-healthy foods remained at holiday levels ($72.85/week holiday period vs. $72.52/week post-holiday). Calories purchased each week increased 9.3% (450 calories per serving/week) after the New Year compared to the holiday period, and increased 20.2% (890 calories per serving/week) compared to baseline.

Conclusions: Despite resolutions to eat more healthfully after New Year's, consumers may adjust to a new "status quo" of increased less-healthy food purchasing during the holidays, and dubiously fulfill their New Year's resolutions by spending more on healthy foods. Encouraging consumers to substitute healthy items for less-healthy items may be one way for practitioners and public health officials to help consumers fulfill New Year's resolutions, and reverse holiday weight gain.

Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1. Average Weekly Expenditures Increase During Both the Holiday and Post-Holiday Seasons.

Weekly average expenditures were plotted out for the duration of the study. Thanksgiving fell on week 20 of the study and Christmas fell on week 24.

Figure 2. Households Increase the Purchase of Healthier Foods After the Holidays.

Additional expenditures were calculated by subtracting expenditures in the holiday and post-holiday seasons from baseline expenditures. Additional expenditures for the less healthy and healthier items were stacked to show total additional expenditures in the respective period.

Figure 3. Households Purchase More Calories (per Serving per Shopping Trip) During the Holiday and Post-Holiday Seasons.

Weekly average calories purchased were plotted out for the duration of the study. Thanksgiving fell on week 20 of the study and Christmas fell on week 24.

Figure 4. Households Purchased Additional Calories of Healthier Foods During the Post-Holiday Period.

Additional calories were calculated by subtracting calories in the holiday and post-holiday seasons from baseline expenditures. Additional calories for the less healthy and healthier items were stacked to show total additional calories in the respective period.