Le poids des contraintes économiques dans les choix alimentaires

Long term trends in food consumption highlight the impact of economic factors on food choices. In France, as in other industrialized countries, consumption has evolved first through a quantitative increase in the consumption of the cheapest foods, and then through a qualitative change in the structure of the diet, reflecting a shift from cheap vegetable products to animal products, fat and sugar. This nutritional transition is now followed by a steady stage during which the macronutrient structure of the diet remains stable. The changes in food prices, in particular those of staple foods, played a prominent role in this evolution. These changes have had large positive effects, however they had as well less desirable consequences, among which nutritional inequalities, obesity and nutrition-related degenerative diseases are the most visible.