Who Buys Portion-Controlled Sizes of Full Calorie Soda? Evidence from Scanner Data

Abstract

I investigate what characteristics of households, if any, that predict purchase of portion-controlled sizes of full calorie carbonated beverages (i.e., soda sold in less than 12 oz containers) and whether this behavior is associated with other healthy dietary habits. I find that household demographics including income, education, and presence of children or elderly are not associated with the purchasing behavior of full calorie carbonated beverages that are less than 12 oz. However, this behavior is negatively associated with the share of carbonated beverages that are diet and positively associated with the share of food expenditure dedicated to fresh produce, which are proxies used to capture healthy dietary habits. Overall, the findings suggest that there is an association between purchases of less than 12 oz of regular carbonated beverages (i.e., the portion-controlled sizes) and portion control behavior.