Bonnet, Céline and Goulão, Catarina (2026) Determinants of ultra-processed food purchases: Evidence of between- and within-household variation in France. Social Science and Medicine, vol.403.

Abstract

Ultra-processed food consumption is associated with obesity and chronic diseases, but its determinants are not well documented. This understanding is essential to inform policies aimed at improving public health. To this end, we construct a unique longitudinal dataset of French households’ food purchases from 2004 to 2015, which we merge with nutritional and food processing data. Using panel data econometric analysis, we identify the determinants of ultra-processed food purchases by exploiting variation between and within households and capturing the persistence of purchasing behavior over time. Moreover, we combine this analysis with an instrumental variable approach to obtain price elasticities.