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Abstract
Total calorie intake has implications on various epidemiological as well as economic analyses. The objective of this thesis was to investigate the factors affecting consumption of different food forms as well as to assess the effect of consumption of food forms on total calorie intake. We used data from the 2017-18 NHANES dataset that includes 24-hour dietary recall and follow-up data. Multinomial logistic regression and propensity score matching were the major empirical methods used. Socio-demographic variables gender, age, ethnicity, education and physical activity played important role in the consumption of raw versus processed food forms. Different food forms of different food types were significantly associated with the total calorie intake, except few comparisons. The research provides initial insights to policymakers about impact of food form on total calorie intake that may be linked to public health outcomes such as obesity.