Table 2 Association of eating food away from home with NCD markers (obesity) (n = 14)
No | Study | Country | Participants | Baseline characteristics | Exposure | Outcome | Findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Naska et al. [20] | 10 western European countries (Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the UK) | 35–74-year-old men and women | 54.45% overall obesity, 39.69% overweight, 14.76% obese | Frequency of eating foods away from home | Change in BMI from baseline to follow-up | Among men, eating at restaurants was significantly associated with BMI and non-significantly with weight gain. Among women no similar patterns were observed |
2 | Anderson et al. [21] | USA | 18–64-year-old men and women | 28% ate fast-food ≥ 2 times/week 28.9% overall obesity | Frequency of fast-food consumption | BMI | The prevalence of obesity increased consistently with frequenting fast-food restaurants, from 24% of those going less than once a week to 33% of those going 3 or more times per week |
3 | Choi et al. [35] | South Korea | Women above 20 years age | 30.4% ate away from home 1–6 times a week 31.9% overall obesity | Frequency of eating foods away from home | BMI | Those who ate out were more likely to be obese. A lower obesity rate was observed among housewives with moderate FAFH frequency who had 7–12 years of education, and were younger than 50 years old |
4 | Larson et al. [36] | USA | 20–31-year-old men and women | 95% ate from one or more type of restaurant in a given week 51.72% overall obesity, 29.19% overweight, 22.52% obese | Weekly frequency of eating foods away from home | BMI | More frequent use of fast-food restaurants that primarily served burgers and French fries was associated with higher risk for overweight/obesity; higher intake of total energy, sugar-sweetened beverages, and fat, and with lower intake of healthful foods and key nutrients |
5 | Payab et al. [38] | Iran | 6–18-year-old boys’ old girls | 9.7% overall obesity, 7% overweight, 12.5% obese | Weekly frequency of junk food consumption | BMI, WC | This study showed significant association between consumption of sweets and both general and abdominal obesity. There was no significant association among junk foods (fast foods and salty snacks) and obesity |
6 | Bezerra et al. [39] | Brazil | 25–65-year-old men and women | 27.5% overall obesity, 38% overweight, 17% obese | Frequency of eating foods away from home | BMI | Although AFHF consumption was not related to overweight or obesity status, individuals who consumed foods away from home had higher intakes of energy-dense foods |
7 | Kant et al. [61] | USA | Men and women above 20 years age | 50% of adults reported ⩾ 3 AFH and 35% reported ⩾ 2 fast-food meals/week | Weekly frequency of eating foods away from home | BMI | The mean BMI increased with increasing weekly frequency of AFH meals (p = 0.0004); the associations were stronger in ⩾ 50-year-olds relative to < 50-year-olds |
8 | Seguin et al. [40] | USA | Men and women above 18 years age | 16% ate away from home ⩾ 5 time per week | Weekly frequency of eating foods away from home | BMI | Higher frequency of FAFH was associated with higher BMI, after adjusting for age, income, education, race, smoking, marital status, and physical activity (women: 0.001; men: 0.003) |
9 | Tian et al. [26] | China | 18–65-year-old men and women | 41.7% overall obesity, 31.7% overweight, 9.9% obese | Weekly frequency of eating foods away from home and restaurant availability | Change in BMI from baseline to follow-up | Higher frequency of eating away from home is positively associated with BMI, but this effect is only significant for men (p < 0.05). Moreover, while eating dinner or breakfast away from home contributes to BMI increase for men (p < 0.05), no such association is found for lunch |
10 | McClain et al. [41] | USA | 18–74-year-old men and women | 47.1% ate away from home ⩾ 5 time per week 76.8% overall obesity, 37.2% overweight, 39.6% obese | Weekly frequency of eating foods away from home | BMI | Study findings identify on-street vendors, but not other types of AFHFs, as being associated with higher odds of obesity |
11 | Zeng and Zeng [43] | China | 18–60-year-old men and women | Not mentioned | Weekly frequency of eating foods away from home | Change in BMI from baseline to follow-up | The results illustrated that the frequency of meals consumed away from home had a significantly positive effect on BMI in urban China, whereas no significant association was observed in rural China |
12 | Cunha et al. [42] | Brazil | 10–19-year-old boys and girls | 47.9% ate away from home in a given day. 22.3% overall obesity | Frequency of eating foods away from home | BMI z-score | Only the at-home ‘Western pattern’ was positively associated with BMI z-scores (β = 0.0006; < 0.001). Results indicate that unhealthy dietary pattern consumed at home is associated to BMI z-score, while away-from-home food consumption is not associated |
13 | Zheng et al. [33] | China | 7–17-year-old children | 80.1% ate away from home ≥ 1 times/week. 29.8% overall obesity | Frequency of eating foods away from home | BMI, WC | Both eating out for Western-style and for Chinese-style food was not statistically significantly associated with overweight risk after adjusting for child and parental factors |
14 | Ma et al. [47] | China | 6–17-year-old children | 12.3% ate away from home ≥ 3 times per week 23.8% overall obesity 13.2% overweight, 10.6% obese | Weekly frequency of eating foods away from home | BMI | Findings revealed that eating out three times per week or more was statistically significant associated with higher prevalence of overweight and obesity among boys (OR 1.20, 95 CI 1.04–1.38) compared with those ate out less than three times per week. However, no significantly association was observed among girls (OR 0.91, 95 CI 0.78–1.01) |