Peanut consumption varies by race, ethnicity
Key takeaways:
- Guidelines say that infants should begin eating peanut between ages 4 and 6 months.
- Significant differences in consumption emerged among toddlers and persisted into childhood and adulthood.
SAN DIEGO — Peanut consumption in the United States varied by race and ethnicity, according to a poster presented at the 2025 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology/World Allergy Organization Joint Congress.
However, these differences were not significant among infants, Erin Hosein, MA, MS, RD, LD, a registered dietitian and PhD student in the department of anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, told Healio.
Current guidelines recommend introducing peanuts into the diets of infants who have an elevated risk of developing food allergy as early as age 4 to 6 months. For those who are not at increased risk, experts recommend introducing allergens freely into the diet in accordance with familial and cultural practices.
“However, we don’t know what those patterns are in the U.S.,” Hosein said. “So, we wanted to see how people are eating peanuts in the U.S.”
The researchers analyzed data from 1,803 infants (50% girls; 43% non-Hispanic white, 22% non-Hispanic Black, 36% Mexican American) spanning 2003 through 2023 from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
The cohort included 656 infants aged 4 to 6 months, 654 aged 7 to 9 months and 493 aged 10 to 12 months. Peanut consumption rates included 15% of those aged 10 to 12 months, 4% of those aged 7 to 9 months, and 0% of those aged 4 to 6 months.
Overall peanut consumption included 4% of the Mexican American group, 5% of the non-Hispanic Black group and 7% of the non-Hispanic white group. The researchers did not consider these differences significant.
“Infants really are getting less peanuts,” Hosein said. “But what we do see that’s interesting is starting with toddlers, differences in the number of people consuming peanuts by race and ethnicity groups emerge.”
Analysis also included data from 2,757 toddlers, aged 13 months to 3 years (mean age, 1.7 years; 48% girls), including 39% who were non-Hispanic white, 28% who were non-Hispanic Black and 34% who were Mexican American.
Specific consumption rates included 41% for non-Hispanic white toddlers, 22% for non-Hispanic Black toddlers and 17% for Mexican American toddlers, which the researchers called significant differences.
“Non-Hispanic white participants reported 50% to 100% higher peanut consumption compared to non-Hispanic Black or Mexican American participants after infancy,” Hosein said.
Significant differences persisted for children aged 3 years and older and adults (n = 51,834; mean age, 37.8 years; 52% female), with 19% of Mexican-American patients, 20% of non-Hispanic Black patients and 32% of non-Hispanic white patients consuming peanuts.
“We do see consumption patterns in toddlers that are as much as children and adults. That’s hopeful news for early introduction. Peanuts are seen as a food that toddlers will consume in the United States, but we do not see the same consumption patterns in infants right now,” Hosein said. “As policies are trying to increase infant consumption, we might start to see these consumption patterns by race and ethnicity in infants as well.”
There was a modest upward trend in early peanut introduction following the publication of the 2017 American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) guidelines for prevention of peanut allergy, which recommend introducing peanut-containing foods as early as age 4 to 6 months, especially for high-risk infants, to help prevent peanut allergy. This suggests progress, Hosein said, even though this study suggests that families still do not see peanuts as an infant food.
“Early introduction involves adding those allergens consistently in the diet, not just one time.” Hosein said. “We’re asking parents to make consistent changes.”
Hosein encouraged physicians to have conversations with families, which aligns with the AAP 2017 guidelines.
“It is important to ask parents if they are eating the allergens. Is it in the house?” she suggested. “If they do consume it regularly, then it would be a good idea to introduce it to their infant once they are eating solids in a safe texture rather than delaying introduction.”
Further, researchers said that educational campaigns should address any fears that families may have, promote the early introduction of peanuts into infant diets, and consider these differences in consumption in planning interventions.
The researchers also examined other allergens including egg and tree nuts, and Hosein said that she is “excited” about those findings.
Hosein said that she and her colleagues will also explore why these differences are occurring by speaking with new mothers who have infants in the complementary feeding age range and examining where they obtain information from and how they make these feeding decisions.
“We’re looking at the role of social media as well,” she said. “We get a lot of information from articles and the media.”
For more information:
Erin Hosein, MA, MS, RD, LD, can be reached at hosein@unc.edu.
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