Trends in Home Cooking among United States Adults from 2003 to 2023: Analysis of American Time Use Survey Food Preparation

Abstract

Background

Home food preparation, “cooking,” can be an affordable method for improving diet quality and reducing intake of ultraprocessed foods, 2 important drivers of diet-related chronic diseases. Understanding current trends among United States adults can inform nutrition interventions promoting home cooking.

Objective

The objective of this study was to determine the percentage of United States adults engaging in home cooking and the mean minutes per day spent cooking among those who cook.

Methods

American Time Use Survey data were used to estimate the percentage of United States adults (n = 231,657) spending any time on home cooking and the mean daily cooking time among those cooking. Changes from 2003 to 2023 were assessed using linear regression and t-statistics. Subgroup analyses explored differences by sex and educational attainment.

Results

From 2003 to 2023, percentage cooking increased among men [36% (SE 0.6%) to 52% (SE 0.9%) (P < 0.001)] and women [69% (SE 0.5%) to 72% (SE 0.9%) (P < 0.001)]. Mean time cooking among those who cook increased for men [45 min/d (SE 0.9) to 50 min/d (SE 1.2); P < 0.001], but not for women [71 min/d (SE 0.8) to 71 mi/d (SE 1.4); P = 0.869]. The largest increases in percentage cooking for men and women were among those with a college degree or higher [+18 percentage points (SE 1.7) men (P < 0.001); +7 percentage points (SE) women (P < 0.001)]. For time spent cooking, the largest increases were observed among women with less than a high school degree [+24 minutes/day (SE 9.9); P = 0.014] and among men for those with a college degree or higher [+11 minutes/day (SE 2.2); P < 0.001].

Conclusions

The percentage of United States adults cooking increased since 2003, with larger increases among men. However, women are still the most likely to cook and spend the most time cooking, with large time increases among those with less than a high school education. Other increases were primarily observed in upper educated households.