Among adults, how common is it to eat sandwiches?

On any given day, about one-half (47%) of all adults in the U.S. ate one or more sandwiches.

As shown in figure 1, a higher percentage of men age 20 years and over (52%) than of women the same age (43%) reported sandwiches, largely due to the significant difference seen among those in the age group 40-59 years.

Figure 1

Percentage of individuals reporting sandwiches on any given day, adults age 20+ years, by gender, 2009-2012. *Within age group, percentage differs significantly (p<0.001) by gender based on a two-tailed t-test.

What type of sandwiches do they eat?

Most sandwiches eaten by adults had meat, poultry, or fish as their primary filling (79%). As shown in figure 2, cold cut sandwiches were the most commonly reported type of sandwich (27%), followed by burgers (17%) and poultry sandwiches (12%; see definition of “sandwich types” on page 8).

Figure 2

Distribution of sandwiches by type, adults age 20+ years, 2009-2012.

At what eating occasions do adults eat sandwiches, and does the type of sandwich vary by eating occasion?

Among adults, nearly one-half of all sandwiches were eaten at lunch (48%), followed by dinner (31%), breakfast (13%), and snacks (8%; see definition of “eating occasions” on page 8).

As shown in table 1, the type of sandwich eaten varied by eating occasion. The most commonly consumed type of sandwich at breakfast contained egg; at lunch, cold cuts; at dinner, burgers; and at snacks, peanut butter.

Table 1

Top sandwich choices by eating occasion, adults age 20+ years, 2009-2012.

From what sources were sandwiches/sandwich ingredients obtained?

By far the most common source from which sandwiches or their ingredients were obtained was a store, followed by fast-food restaurant and other restaurant (figure 3; see definition of “source” on page 8).

Figure 3

Distribution of sandwiches by source, adults age 20+ years, 2009-2012.

The source of sandwiches varied considerably by type of sandwich. Fast food restaurants provided about one-half of the burgers (59%) and poultry sandwiches (46%) consumed by adults, whereas over three-fourths (76%) of cold cut sandwiches or their ingredients were obtained from a store.

How much difference do sandwiches make in adults’ daily energy intake?

The average daily intake of energy from all foods and beverages was 2,540 kilocalories (“calories;” see definition on page 8) for men and 1,806 kilocalories for women. As shown in figure 4, individuals who ate a sandwich on the intake day (sandwich reporters; see definition on page 8) had a higher energy intake than those who did not eat a sandwich (non-reporters). On average, this difference was 268 kilocalories for men and 164 kilocalories for women (278 kilocalories for all adults together).

Figure 4

Mean energy intake by sandwich reporting status, adults age 20+ years, 2009-2012. *Within gender, intake differs significantly (p<0.001) between sandwich reporters and non-reporters based on a two-tailed t-test.

How much do sandwiches contribute to adults’ intakes of energy and nutrients?

As shown in figure 5, sandwiches contribute 12% of all energy (calories) consumed by U.S. adults. Sandwiches make substantial contributions to some nutrients that adults tend to consume in lower-than-recommended amounts (such as calcium) and also to other nutrients that adults tend to consume in higher-than-recommended amounts (such as such as saturated fat and sodium). ^2–5

Figure 5

Percentage of total intake of energy and selected nutrients contributed by sandwiches, adults age 20+ years, 2009-2012.

How much do sandwiches contribute to adults’ intakes of MyPlate food groups/components?

MyPlate⁶ is a graphic representation designed to help consumers make healthier food choices, emphasizing the fruit, vegetable, grain, protein foods, and dairy groups.

Sandwiches contribute considerable proportions of adults’ total intakes of many MyPlate components, notably protein foods (especially cured meat), cheese, grains, oils, and solid fats (table 2). Though sandwiches accounted for similar percentages of the overall intakes of refined and whole grains, the total amount of refined grains consumed was more than five times that of whole grains.

Table 2

Percentage of total intake of selected MyPlate food groups/components contributed by sandwiches, adults age 20+ years, 2009-2012.

Definitions

Eating occasions

Eating occasions with the following English and Spanish names were grouped together: breakfast, desayuno, and almuerzo; lunch, brunch, and comida; dinner, supper, and cena; and snack, drink, merienda, entre comida, botana, bocadillo, tentempie, bebida, and items consumed over an extended period of time.

Kilocalories

Scientific unit used in reporting the energy content of food; shortened to “calories” in casual usage in the U.S.

MyPlate food groups/components

Most MyPlate food groups and components used in this report are defined in reference ⁷. A definition of “other” vegetables is given below. For this analysis, beans and peas (legumes) were included in the vegetables group and, consequently, excluded from protein foods. Soy milk was included in the dairy group and, consequently, excluded from the “nuts, seeds, soy” subgroup of protein foods.

“Other” vegetables

Includes vegetables other than those classified as dark green, red/orange, starchy, or beans and peas (legumes), as defined in reference ⁷. Some examples of “other” vegetables are cucumber, green pepper, lettuce (iceberg and others not classified as dark green), and onion.

Reporter/non-reporter

An adult who ate a sandwich on the intake day is considered to be a “reporter,” whereas one who did not eat a sandwich is a “non-reporter.” Many people classified as non-reporters in this analysis may consume sandwiches on some days, even though they did not eat one on the intake day.

Sandwich

For this analysis, the definition of “sandwich” included not only sandwiches represented in the dietary data by a single food code (these were often fast-food items, such as “Cheeseburger with tomato and/or catsup, on bun”) but also those represented by two or more food codes that were linked and identified as a “sandwich combination” (for example, bread, bacon, tomato, lettuce, and mayonnaise).

Sandwich types

Each sandwich was classified according to its primary filling, usually a protein food. Egg sandwiches included all sandwiches containing egg, even if they also contained some meat. Cheese sandwiches excluded sandwiches that also contained meat, poultry, fish, meat alternates, or egg.

Source of sandwiches/ingredients

For each food/beverage reported, survey participants were asked “Where did you get this (NAME OF FOOD) or most of the ingredients for this (NAME OF FOOD)?” Response options included store (2011-2012: store - grocery/supermarket, store - convenience type, and store - no additional information), fast food/pizza restaurant, restaurant with waiter/waitress, from someone else or as a gift, school cafeteria (2011-2012: in a K-12 school), other cafeteria (2011-2012: not in a K-12 school), child care center, sport/recreation/entertainment facility, street vendor/vending truck, grown/caught by you or someone you know, vending machine, and more than 15 other options.

Data source

Estimates in this report are based on one day of dietary intake data collected in What We Eat in America (WWEIA), the dietary intake interview component of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), in 2009-2012. Dietary data were collected in person using the 5-step USDA Automated Multiple-Pass Method (AMPM) for the 24-hour recall. A total of 10,563 individuals age 20 years and older (5,183 men and 5,380 women) provided complete and reliable dietary intake data. Sample weights were applied in all analyses to produce nationally representative estimates. USDA’s Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies (FNDDS) was used in calculating intakes of energy and nutrients, and USDA’s Food Patterns Equivalents Database (FPED) was used in calculating intakes of MyPlate components.

Acknowlegments

The authors thank Emily A. Callahan, MPH, RD, Mary E. Cogswell, DrPH, and Chris A. Taylor, PhD, RDN, LD, FAND, for their conscientious review of this report.

References

1.

Sebastian RS, Wilkinson Enns C, Goldman JD, Hoy MK, Moshfegh AJ. Sandwiches are major contributors of sodium in the diets of American adults: Results from What We Eat in America, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2009-2010. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2015 Feb;115(2):272–7. doi: 10.1016/j.jand.2014.07.034. Epub 2014 Oct 6. [PubMed: 25300226] [CrossRef]

2.

Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. 2015 (Feb). Scientific Report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee: Advisory Report to the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Agriculture. http://www​.health.gov​/dietaryguidelines/2015-scientific-report​/PDFs/Scientific-Report-of-the-2015-Dietary-Guidelines-Advisory-Committee.pdf

3.

U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010. 7th Edition, Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, December 2010. http://www​.cnpp.usda​.gov/sites/default/files​/dietary_guidelines_for_americans​/PolicyDoc.pdf [PMC free article: PMC3090168] [PubMed: 22332062]

4.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2005. 6th Edition, Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, January 2005. http://health​.gov/dietaryguidelines​/dga2005​/document/pdf/DGA2005.pdf [PMC free article: PMC3090168] [PubMed: 22332062]

5.

WWEIA Usual Intake Data Tables. http://www​.ars.usda.gov/Services/docs​.htm?docid=22659

6.

ChooseMyPlate.gov: About Us. http://www​.choosemyplate.gov/about.html

7.

Bowman SA, Clemens JC, Friday JE, Thoerig RC, Moshfegh AJ. 2014. Food Patterns Equivalents Database 2011-12: Methodology and User Guide. http://www​.ars.usda.gov​/SP2UserFiles/Place​/80400530/pdf/fped/FPED_1112.pdf

Sebastian RS, Wilkinson Enns C, Goldman JD, Hoy MK, Moshfegh AJ. Sandwich consumption by adults in the U.S.: What We Eat In America, NHANES 2009-2012. Food Surveys Research Group Dietary Data Brief No. 14. December 2015.