Brown-bagged lunches hit a high point in 2007, according to a report from the NPD Group market research organization. The main reason, as might be expected, was economic, but health and nutrition concerns ranked second, according to the report, “How Brown-Bagging Is Affecting Foodservice Lunch.”

Other reasons include convenience, taste, diet, quality and environmental concerns. Specifically, weekday lunches carried from home increased from 35 per capita in 2006 to 38 in 2007.

Men were more likely to brown-bag than women, but both groups increased their overall use of take-from-home meals over the year, NPD says.

Demographically, NPD says white-collar professionals with mid- to high-incomes tend to have the greatest interest in carrying their weekday lunches from home. The most frequent brown-baggers pack their lunch an average of three times per week.