Food Away from Home Frequency, Diet Quality, and Health: Cross-Sectional Analysis of NHANES Data 2011–2018

The consumption of meals prepared away from home (FAFH) in the U.S. has been commonly linked to overall poorer diet quality; however, less is known about the relationship with health parameters. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to assess the diet quality and health parameters of adults who reported the frequency of obtaining or eating FAFH using a combination of four 2-year cycles of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES, 2011–2018) data. Data from 14,999 adults aged 20 to 65 years were used to examine the associations between diet and health outcomes and the weekly frequency of FAFH. Multivariable regression models were used to compare Healthy Eating Index-2015 (HEI-2015) scores by FAFH frequency, adjusting for sociodemographic variables. Adults with more frequent FAFH meals were more likely to be younger, male, lower-income, and unmarried. Total HEI-2015 scores and component scores for greens and beans, total and whole fruits, whole grains, saturated fats, and added sugars were significantly lower in those consuming >2 FAFH meals/week vs. ≤2 FAFH meals/week. BMI and waist circumference tended to be higher for women having more frequent FAFH meals. More frequent FAFH meals among adults were associated with poorer diet quality and weight outcomes, building on results from earlier studies.