(RxWiki News) Skipping the restaurant and takeout menus could help you live longer, a new study suggests.
This new study found that frequent consumption of meals that were prepared away from your home was tied to a higher risk of dying early.
Compared to home cooking, restaurant meals are often higher in sodium and fat and lower in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fiber and antioxidants. But Americans have consumed an increasing number of their daily calories from foods prepared away from their homes in recent years, this study noted.
"This is one of the first studies to quantify the association between eating out and mortality," said lead study author Dr. Wei Bao, of the University of Iowa College of Public Health, in a press release. "Our findings, in line with previous studies, support that eating out frequently is associated with adverse health consequences and may inform future dietary guidelines to recommend reducing consumption of meals prepared away from home."
The study authors based their findings on the survey responses of more than 35,000 American adults. The study participants answered questions about their eating habits, including how often they eat out. The researchers compared these numbers to death records.
Their findings? People who ate out for two or more meals per day on average were 1.49 times more likely than those who rarely ate out to die of any cause. They were also 1.67 times more likely to die of cancer and 1.18 times more likely to die of heart disease.
"The take-home message is that frequent consumption of meals prepared away from home may not be a healthy habit," the study authors wrote. "Instead, people should be encouraged to consider preparing more meals at home."
If you are concerned about your diet or general health, reach out to your health care provider.
This study was published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
The study authors reported no outside funding sources or potential conflicts of interest.
