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In the Know: No Place Like Home?

Madison Direct Marketing has conducted a survey which finds that 82% of families with children under the age of five eat takeout or delivered meals at home at least a few times a month. Of all parents with children under five, 33% say they serve takeout or delivered foods at least a few times per week.

Bruce Gold, executive vice president at Madison, says, “Parents are actively looking for ways to simplify and save time where they can. It seems the vast array of ready-to-go meal options out there is hard to resist.”

Takeout is not the sole beneficiary of those pressures. The Madison survey also found many households are big fans of semi-prepared meals from supermarkets and specialty food stores. Some 75% of parents with kids under five serve these easier-to-prepare meals at least a few times per month. Of those, 37% do so at least a few times per week.

At least those meals are eaten at home. A new study by the American Dietetic Association partially blames restaurants for consumers' tendencies to overeat. In addition to the ingrained need to “clean the plate,” the massive portions found in restaurants have influenced notions of what constitutes a proper serving. When asked to estimate correct serving sizes, 68% of respondents overstated the amount of cooked vegetables, 55% the amount of pasta, and 54% the amount of cooked lean meat.

For more information on the Madison Direct Marketing survey, contact 203-532-9000. For more information on the American Dietetic Association study, contact 800-877-1600.

Sidebar: THE IN BOX:

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Archer Daniels Midland Company named Janice K. Binger vice president of ADM Natural Health & Nutrition.

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