Abstract
BackgroundTo investigate the association between environmental risk factors, eating away from home, and increasing BMI of Chinese adults.MethodsParticipants were selected from the recent four waves (2004, 2006, 2009, and 2011) of the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS). 10633 participants, including 5084 men and 5549 women, were used in the analysis. 24-h dietary recall data for three consecutive days with information on the time and place of consumption were collected. Nearby restaurants were measured by the number of fast food outlets, indoor restaurants, and food stands in the neighborhood. Random effects multivariable regression was used to assess associations between these variables.ResultsPeople living in neighborhoods with large numbers of indoor restaurants are more likely to eat away from home (p<0.05). Higher frequency of eating away from home is positively associated with BMI, but this effect is only significant for men (p<0.05). Moreover, while eating dinner or breakfast away from home contributes to BMI increase for men (p<0.05), no such association is found for lunch.ConclusionEating dinner and breakfast away from home is positively associated with BMI for Chinese men. Labeling energy and portion size for the dishes served in indoor restaurants is recommended in China.
Highlights
Along with China’s rapid income growth and urbanization in the past four decades, Chinese consumers have begun eating more meals in restaurants, cafeterias, and dining halls[1,2,3,4,5]
Nearby restaurants were measured by the number of fast food outlets, indoor restaurants, and food stands in the neighborhood
People living in neighborhoods with large numbers of indoor restaurants are more likely to eat away from home (p
Summary
Along with China’s rapid income growth and urbanization in the past four decades, Chinese consumers have begun eating more meals in restaurants, cafeterias, and dining halls[1,2,3,4,5]. Others investigate the determinants of eating out in China[1, 3,4,5, 29] and highlight the dominant role of income growth[3, 29], rapid urbanization[30], family and individual characteristics such as the wife’s employment status[3, 31], as well as increasing accessibility to food facilities. These studies do not relate EAFH to health outcomes
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