Men Close The Cooking Gap As Home Meal Prep Rises Across The Us

From 2003 to 2023, location cooking successful nan US roseate sharply, driven by men and assemblage graduates. However, women still walk much clip successful nan kitchen, and equity gaps successful nutrient mentation are widening.

Study: Trends successful Home Cooking among US Adults from 2003 to 2023: Analysis of American Time Use Survey Food Preparation. Image credit: Drazen Zigic/Shutterstock.com

In a caller study published successful Current Developments successful Nutrition, researchers utilized American Time Use Survey (ATUS) information to estimate nan percent of adults who navigator astatine location and nan mean minutes per time among those who cook, wide and by activity and education.

Background 

In nan United States (US), location cooking is tied to little assemblage wide scale (BMI) and amended fare quality, but agelong workdays, nutrient inflation, and Coronavirus illness 2019 (COVID-19) shifts propulsion group toward ultra-processed meals.

Pressure cookers, repast kits, and one-pot recipes committedness speed, but access, equipment, and assurance stay uneven by acquisition and income, shaping who cooks and for really long. The study authors statement that these barriers, particularly among lower-educated and low-income groups, whitethorn power observed differences successful cooking patterns.

About nan study

Using nan ATUS tally by nan Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), nan squad analyzed adults aged 18+ who completed 8 Current Population Survey (CPS) interviews earlier recall. Data were extracted pinch Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) ATUS Extract Builder for 2003-2023, excluding 2020 because COVID-19 disrupted collection. The analytic attraction was Household Activity 020200, nutrient and portion preparation, presentation, and clean-up, capturing superior activity minutes complete a 24-hour diary day. Work-related cooking, repast planning, aliases shopping was not counted. Outcomes were nan percent reporting immoderate cooking (greater than 0 minutes) and nan mean minutes per time among those who cooked.

Covariates included sex, age, children successful nan household, surviving pinch a partner, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) information from nan Eating and Health Module (EHM), employment, education, and race/ethnicity. Individuals connected holiday, younger than 18 years, aliases reporting much than 8.5 hours of cooking were excluded. ATUS probability and replicate weights were applied. Linear regression tested trends from 2003 to 2023; t-statistics compared 2003 pinch 2023 wide and by activity and education; sensitivity analyses adjusted for demographic shifts. Statistical study utilized Stata 17.0.

Study results

The unweighted sample comprised 231,657 diaries from 2003 to 2023. In 2023, nan weighted organization skewed older and much knowledgeable than successful 2003, mirroring US demographic shifts. Across nan period, nan percent of adults who cooked connected an mean time roseate overall. Among men, information accrued from 36% to 52%, and 69% to 72% among women.

Time among those who cooked was much stable. Men accrued from 45 to 50 minutes per day, whereas women remained astatine 71 minutes per day. Year-to-year patterns showed men’s information expanding steadily until stabilizing aft 2021, while women's rates fluctuated wrong a constrictive range. Trend tests indicated important yearly increases for some sexes, pinch a larger yearly summation for men and humble time-use changes.

Differences were evident crossed acquisition groups. Adults pinch a assemblage grade aliases higher saw nan astir important summation successful information (about +13 percent points), surpassing those pinch little than a precocious schoolhouse acquisition by 2023 (66% versus 55%). Grouping by activity and education, nan astir important summation occurred for men pinch a assemblage grade aliases higher (+18 percent points), and nan smallest for women pinch immoderate assemblage (+2 percent points), which was not statistically significant.

Daily minutes among those who cooked besides differed. From 2003 to 2023, minutes roseate by astir 5 among college-educated adults. Within sex-education strata, clip accrued astir for women pinch little than a precocious schoolhouse acquisition (+24 minutes per day) and men pinch a assemblage grade aliases higher (+11 minutes per day). Despite gains, women who cooked consistently spent much clip than men who cooked.

Sensitivity analyses that adjusted for demographic alteration reached nan aforesaid conclusions. Participation trends remained important for some men and women, and time-use trends were small, pinch a somewhat greater summation observed among women. Together, these patterns propose that location cooking has go much communal without requiring much regular clip for astir adults.

However, nan authors be aware that ATUS measures only superior activities and does not seizure repast planning, shopping, aliases multitasking during cooking, which whitethorn underestimate full effort. The findings show that cooking gains were concentrated among higher-educated adults, raising concerns for fare value and wellness equity since cooking is linked to amended nutrition and little cardiometabolic risk.

Conclusions 

More US adults are cooking astatine location than 2 decades ago, but nan day’s cooking clip has hardly budged. Men made nan astir important summation successful participation, yet women stay much apt to navigator and, erstwhile they do, walk much minutes.

The study recovered that acquisition shaped cooking habits. Adults pinch a assemblage grade aliases higher were much apt to cook, raising concerns that nan benefits of location cooking, and nan associated improvements successful fare quality, whitethorn deepen socioeconomic disparities.

Public wellness programs and curricula should build skills, confidence, and efficiency, particularly for men and lower-education groups. Time constraints and costs should beryllium considered to make location cooking realistic and sustainable. SNAP -Ed and nan Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) are applicable examples cited successful nan study.

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