In Support of Breastfeeding

practice applications

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

In Support of Breastfeeding To the Editor: The United States Breastfeeding Committee (USBC) would like to commend the inclusion of a practice application from Acting US Surgeon General Rear Admiral Steven K. Galson, MD, MPH, “Mothers and Children Benefit from Breastfeeding,” in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, July 2008. The USBC applauds the American Dietetic Association’s (ADA’s) support of breastfeeding, recognizing the unique role that dietetics practitioners play in breastfeeding promotion. Protecting a women’s right to express breast milk at work is one critical way to provide support to women who breastfeed their babies. Research demonstrates unequivocal health benefits of breastfeeding and shows that those benefits are greatest when babies are breastfed exclusively. Reducing the barriers that mothers face as they balance breastfeeding and work allows for babies and their mothers to gain the enormous protections that can only be provided by breastfeeding. The USBC is a coalition of organizations, representing government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and health professional organizations. ADA has been a member organization since the inception of the USBC. Guided by its mission to improve the nation’s health by working collaboratively to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding, the USBC works to achieve the national breastfeeding goals of 75% of all newborns initiating breastfeeding, 40% exclusively breastfeeding at 3 months, and 17% still exclusively breastfeeding at 6 months. We encourage ADA members to visit the USBC Web site, www. usbreastfeeding.org, for more information about the USBC and its member organizations. The site provides information about recent USBC initiatives and activities as well as access to our various publications, statements, and news releases. The USBC looks forward to our continued work together to achieve our national breastfeeding goals and cre-

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ate an environment where women and their families can be successful in achieving their personal breastfeeding goals. Again thank you for highlighting the Acting Surgeon General’s editorial. Joan Younger Meek, MD, MS, RD, FAAP, FASM, IBCLC, Chair Marian Tompson, Vice Chair Linda C. Pugh, PhD, RNC, FAAN, Treasurer Robin W. Stanton, MA, RD, LD, Corresponding Secretary Jeanne Blankenship, MS, RD, Recording Secretary United States Breastfeeding Committee Washington, DC doi: 10.1016/j.jada.2009.04.023

Household Food and Beverage Purchasing To the Editor: French and colleagues’ recent review article about household food and beverage purchasing demonstrates the need to increase transdisciplinary approaches by academics (1). I discovered this review article while searching for new literature relevant to my research concerning household time use, food choices, and obesity; the words “household food and beverage purchasing” in the title caught my attention. I noted that the search engines and key words used by the authors would not lead them to research focused on household demand for food in other disciplines. As an applied economist, purchase decisions are key, and food is of particular interest. In my field, searching databases such as Econlit and Agricola with key words “food expenditures,” “food demand,” and “household food consumption” yield articles on household food purchasing not considered by French and colleagues. The Consumer Expenditure Survey (CE) conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics is a huge, rich data set (N⫽120,171, 2006) that includes numerous categories of food expenditures

Journal of the AMERICAN DIETETIC ASSOCIATION

along with socioeconomic information (2). Food expenditures are classified as “food at home” and “food away from home” and can be reorganized by food categories. The economist’s challenge is using expenditures (price multiplied by quantity) in the CE as a proxy for quantity demanded, not ideal for nutritionists. And there are data gaps; the CE contains no obesity data. It classifies butter as a dairy product rather than a fat. It does not distinguish between diet and regular soft drinks, nor juice beverages vs 100% juice. However, it does provide information on household expenditures of fresh vs frozen or canned fruits and vegetables and full-service vs fast-food restaurants. Another data set, the American Time Use Survey, also records detailed information concerning food behavior (3). It is very large (N⫽12,943, 2006) and not only quantifies the number of times people eat in a given day but also specifies whether it was a primary or secondary activity. In addition, the dataset catalogues where people eat, who cooks, and how much time is spent shopping, preparing, and cleaning up after meals. The newest health module even provides body mass index data. While it is not possible to link the CE to the American Time Use Survey in an ideal way and nutritionists may find the food information lacking, the magnitude of these two large, national surveys provide useful data when combined. When searching for information related to the food purchase behavior of households, it is imperative to search economic and agriculture data bases as well as health data bases. Our transdisciplinary discussion should begin with an identification of gaps in the literature and “wish lists” for expanded data sets. These steps cannot be taken until we know where to look and use the key words necessary to expand individually narrow vocabularies. As an economist, I often look to my knowledgeable colleagues in nutrition to help me better understand how to best examine food demand behaviors from their point of view. I hope they value my input into the economic aspects of nutrition and food behaviors. Adding

© 2009 by the American Dietetic Association