Abstract
Eating location has been linked with variations in diet quality including the consumption of low-nutrient energy-dense food, which is a recognised risk factor for obesity. Cross-sectional data from 4736 adults aged 19 years and over from Years 1–6 of the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) Rolling Programme (RP) (2008–2014) were used to explore food consumption patterns by eating location. Eating location was categorized as home, work, leisure places, food outlets and “on the go”. Foods were classified into two groups: core (included in the principal food groups and considered important/acceptable within a healthy diet) and non-core (all other foods). Out of 97,748 eating occasions reported, the most common was home (67–90% of eating occasions). Leisure places, food outlets and “on the go” combined contributed more energy from non-core (30%) than from core food (18%). Analyses of modulating factors revealed that sex, income, frequency of eating out and frequency of drinking were significant factors affecting consumption patterns (p < 0.01). Our study provides evidence that eating patterns, behaviours and resulting diet quality vary by location. Public health interventions should focus on availability and access to healthy foods, promotion of healthy food choices and behaviours across multiple locations, environments and contexts for food consumption.
Highlights
Diet related diseases are a leading cause of disability and premature death [1]
Our aim was to examine and characterise the food environment of UK adults, both at home and out-of-home, and the types of food consumed, for which the following questions were addressed: (1) What are the most common eating locations in adults? (2) What types of foods are consumed in each location and how much do they contribute to daily energy intakes? (3) How do these patterns fluctuate with age and other modulatory factors? In particular, whether income, individual traits, and drinking/smoking habits were significant predictors of eating location intake patterns was studied
The percentage of eating occasions at locations outside of home and work were much lower in comparison and decreased with age for all locations except leisure places which remained comparable across all age groups
Summary
Diet related diseases are a leading cause of disability and premature death [1]. the prevention of these chronic diseases can be attained through improved diet—including reduced burden of cardiovascular disease [2,3], diabetes [4], certain types of cancer [5] and conditions such as overweight and obesity [6,7]—current global trends suggest a continued increase in the consumption of foods that are incompatible with current diet recommendation [8].Nutrients 2017, 9, 1315; doi:10.3390/nu9121315 www.mdpi.com/journal/nutrientsTo support healthier diet intakes for the population, there is a need to shift the focus from individual determinants toward the policies and environmental forces that distribute risk across the population [9,10,11]. Characteristics of the local food environment including exposure to food outlets and frequency of foods consumed outside of the home has been associated with less healthy diets and increased body weight in adults [12,13,14,15]. 20–25% of adults and children in the UK eating meals prepared out-of-home [19]. Frequency of out-of-home eating has been linked with higher body weight as well as diets high in fat and energy and low in micronutrient content [14,15,20,21,22]; a diet pattern described as containing increased empty calories through overconsumption of solid fats and added sugars [23], which has been hypothesized to displace important micronutrient intakes [24]
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