It’s not only what you eat, but how your food is prepared that determines its health quotient. That’s the key finding of new research by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health that shows people who frequently cook meals at home eat healthier and consume fewer calories than those who cook less.
 

The findings also suggest that those who frequently cooked at home — six-to-seven nights a week — tend to consumed fewer calories on the occasions when they eat out, even if they aren’t intently seeking to shed pounds, Medical Xpress reports. 

 

"When people cook most of their meals at home, they consume fewer carbohydrates, less sugar, and less fat than those who cook less or not at all — even if they are not trying to lose weight," said lead researcher Julia A. Wolfson.
 

The study findings — slated for presentation this week at the American Public Health Association's annual meeting in New Orleans and for publication in the journal Public Health Nutrition — are based on a review of the 2007-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from more than 9,000 American adults.
 

The survey asked detailed questions about what participants ate during a 24-hour period as well as other eating behaviors in the past 30 days.
 

The results showed 8 percent of adults cooked dinner once or less a week and this group consumed, on an average day, 2,301 total calories, 84 grams of fat, and 135 grams of sugar. By contrast, 48 percent of participants cooked dinner six to seven times a week and consumed 2,164 calories, 81 grams of fat and 119 grams of sugar on an average day.
 

The researchers also found that those who cook at home more often rely less frequently on frozen foods and are less likely to choose fast foods on the occasions when they eat out.
 

"Obesity is an escalating public health problem that contributes to other serious health issues, including diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease," said Wolfson. "The evidence shows people who cook at home eat a more healthy diet. Moving forward, it's important to educate the public about the benefits of cooking at home, identify strategies that encourage and enable more cooking at home, and help everyone, regardless of how much they cook, make healthier choices when eating out."