[Proportion and trends of eating away from home among adult residents in China from 2002 to 2015].

Objective: To understand the current situation and changing trends of eating away from home in adult residents aged 18-49 years old.

Methods: Data was collected from 2002 Chinese Nutrition and Health Survey, 2010-2012 Chinese Nutrition and Health Surveillance and 2015 Chinese Adult Chronic Disease and Nutrition Surveillance. The multi-stage stratified cluster random sampling method was used in all the surveys(surveillance). The sample sizes for 2002, 2010-2012 and 2015 were 24 709, 15 701and 32 337, respectively. The basic information, height, weight and eating out index of the subjects were collected through inquiry survey, physical measurement and dietary survey.

Results: From 2002 to 2015, the proportion of Chinese adults aged 18 to 49 years old who eat away from home showed an overall rising trend. From the perspective of gender, from 2002 to 2015, the proportion of Chinese adult men aged 18 to 49 years old eating away from home increased from 37.6% in 2002 to 46.8% in 2015, and the proportion of adult women eating away from home increased from 29.9% in 2002 to 35.0% in 2015, showing an increasing trend. From the perspective of age group, from 2002 to 2015, the proportion of adults aged 18 to 49 years old who eat away from home showed a downward trend as the age increased. From the perspective of geographical region and urban and rural areas, the proportion of adults aged 18-49 years old eating away from home in seven categories of regions in China from 2002 to 2015 showed an increasing trend, among which, the proportion of adults in South China and East China was higher, with more than half of adults eating away from home every week. The urban growth rate was higher than that in rural areas.

Conclusion: From 2002 to 2015, the proportion of Chinese adults aged 18 to 49 years old who eat away from home shows an overall rising trend. With the increase of age, the proportion of adults eating away from home shows a declining trend, which is higher in urban areas than in rural areas, and higher in South and East China than in other geographical regions.