How Much Time Do Americans Spend Eating?
Karen
Hamrick
David Hopkins
Ket McClelland
Successful policies to mitigate
the rise in obesity and other diet-related health
conditions in the U.S. depend on an understanding
of Americans' eating patterns. Eating patterns encompass
not only what and how much people eat, but also
when and where they eat, how long they spend eating
or snacking, and whether they dine alone or with
others.
The Eating & Health Module
of the American Time Use Survey (ATUS) collects
information on Americans' eating patterns, general
health, food and nutrition assistance program participation,
grocery shopping, and meal preparation. Funded by
ERS and the National Cancer Institute, the Module
is a supplement to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics'
ATUS, a continuous survey that began in 2003. One
individual from each sampled household is interviewed
about his or her use of time for the 24-hour period
on the day before the interview. Survey respondents
are asked to identify their primary activity if
they were engaged in more than one activity at a
time.
According to 2006 ATUS and Module
data, Americans age 15 and older spent 67 minutes
on an average day in "primary" eating
and drinking of beverages, that is eating/drinking
as a self-reported main activity. In addition, Americans
spent an average of 16 minutes eating and 42 minutes
drinking beverages (except for plain water) as secondary
activities, such as while working, watching television,
or playing sports. An additional 7 minutes were
spent in associated activities (such as travel time
to a restaurant and waiting to order). Men and women
spent about the same amount of time eating/drinking.
Four percent of the U.S. population
reported spending no time in primary eating/drinking
on an average day, but they did spend an average
of 35 minutes in secondary eating and 107 minutes
(1.8 hours) in secondary drinking. Another 8 percent
of the population, referred to as "constant
grazers," spent an unusually long time eating
and drinking—4.5 hours or more each day. Most
of this group's food consumption time was spent
in secondary drinking or sipping of beverages.
About two-thirds of Americans'
primary eating/drinking occurrences were with family
or others. However, only 42 percent were with others
for secondary eating or secondary drinking, with
the rest done either alone, at work, or while engaged
in grooming or other personal care activities.
Over the course of the day, about
22 percent of the population was engaged in some
eating or drinking activity between 7 a.m. and 10
a.m. Between noon and 1 p.m., 42 percent of Americans
were engaged in eating and/or drinking activity.
The evening peak was between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m.,
with 40 percent engaged in eating or drinking.
Average time spent in primary and
secondary eating/drinking did not vary much by Body
Mass Index (BMI), contrary to expectations. Those
considered underweight spent more time in secondary
drinking than the other BMI groups. More research
is needed to understand the complexities of food
consumption time patterns and BMI, such as looking
at whether an individual's eating is a primary or
secondary activity, and analyzing eating time patterns
over the day.
The Eating & Health Module
was added to the ATUS in January 2006 and is scheduled
to be
included through 2008. Analyses of the additional
survey information collected will allow researchers
to study the relationship between obesity and allotment
of time (eating, exercise, inactivity); differences
in time-use patterns between households that receive
food stamp benefits and other low-income households;
and the relationship between parents' time-use patterns
and their children's consumption of meals purchased
at school or day care.
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On an
average day in 2006... |
| The top three
places for primary eating and drinking were:
Own home or yard—67.2%
Workplace—12.9%
Restaurant or bar—11.2%
The top three places for secondary
eating or drinking were:
Own home or yard—53.4%
Workplace—20.0%
Driving, walking, or biking—8.9%
The top five activities that accompanied
secondary eating or drinking were:
Relaxing and leisure—29.2%
(watching television and movies accounted
for about two-thirds of this category)
Paid working—19.5%
Socializing and communicating— 5.9%
Preparing, presenting, and cleaning up food
and drink—5.2%
Housework—4.4%
The top five activities that accompanied
secondary eating or drinking, by average
time spent engaged in eating and drinking,
were:
Attending or hosting social events—77.2
minutes
Paid working—70.3 minutes
Arts and entertainment (includes movies, excludes
sporting
events)—68.5 minutes
Participating in sports, exercise, or recreation—54.0
minutes
Lawn, garden, and houseplant care—46.8
minutes
|
|
Source:
ERS calculations using the Bureau of Labor
Statistics American Time Use Survey and the
ERS Eating & Health Module. |
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