Household Cooking Frequency of Dinner Among Non-Hispanic Black Adults is Associated with Income and Employment, Perceived Diet Quality and Varied Objective Diet Quality, HEI (Healthy Eating Index): NHANES Analysis 2007–2010

Abstract

Home cooking is associated with improved diet quality. Non-Hispanic Blacks, a population with diet-quality related health disparities, report lower home cooking than other racial/ethnic groups. Factors and subsequent dietary outcomes associated with this cooking disparity are relatively unknown. A secondary analysis was performed using demographic and consumer behavior data from the 2007–2010 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) to identify factors associated with household cooking frequency of dinner among Non-Hispanic Blacks. Self-reported dietary data were used to calculate Healthy Eating Index-2010 (HEI-2010) to determine cooking related objective diet quality. Lower income, unemployment, and higher perceived diet quality were significantly associated with higher cooking frequency (p < 0.05). For diet quality, higher vegetable (p = 0.031), lower empty calorie intake (p = 0.002), higher dinner time protein (p = 0.004) and lower dinner time dairy intake (p = 0.003) were associated with cooking. Total HEI scores were associated with higher cooking frequency for middle income (p = 0.007), but not higher or lower income categories (p = 0.306; p = 0.384), respectively. On average, factors associated with cooking frequency were psychosocial, income, and employment related. Objective diet quality as measured by HEI was variable. Future dietary studies among Non-Hispanic Blacks should include cooking, socioeconomic status and perceived diet quality as particularly relevant factors of interest.