“Do It Yourself” Healthy Eating
If the axiom, “If you want something done right, do it yourself,” were to collide with the axiom, “There is nothing like home cooking," then we would be left with a do-it-yourself method for healthy eating. Not only that, but we would have a study to support the contention. The study may have very well taken place at the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Research. And it may have even concluded that cooking at home leads to consuming fewer calories and eating healthier foods.
Research conducted at the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health does, indeed, show that people who frequently cook meals at home consume fewer calories than people who don’t. It also was discovered that those who cook six or seven nights per week also consume less calories when they eat outside the home. Specifically, the study showed that when a person cooks most of his or her meals at home, he or she will eat fewer carbohydrates, less sugar and less fat than someone who cooks less or does not cook at all.
More than 9,000 people participated in a survey, which asked questions about how much a person ate in a 24-hour period, and other eating behaviors, like consumption of fast food. It was discovered that eight percent of adults cooked dinner at home less than once per week, and consumed an average of 2,301 calories, 84 grams of fat, and 135 grams of sugar each day. Another 48 percent of participants cooked dinner at home six or seven days per week, and consumed an average of 2,164 calories, 81 grams of fat and 119 grams of sugar per day. It also was discovered that people who cook at home more often ate frozen food less often and dined at fast food restaurants less often when they ate out.
Another study found that people who spend less than one hour per day preparing food at home are more likely to eat fast food and spend more money eating out. It also was discovered that spending more time at home preparing meals is linked to a number of indicators of a better diet, such as greater consumption of fruits and vegetables.
The study confirmed findings from previous studies that suggested lack of time as being one of the most commonly reported barriers to healthy eating. Overall, people who were employed outside of the home spent fewer hours preparing meals and turned to more convenient options: They ate out more often, bought fast food more often, and bought ready-made meals more often.
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