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pdfDATA F E AT U R E
S T A T I S T I C S
How Much Time Do
Americans Spend Eating?
Karen Hamrick, khamrick@ers.usda.gov
David Hopkins, dhopkins@ers.usda.gov
Ket McClelland, ksdolan@ers.usda.gov
VO L U M E 6 I S S U E 3
GettyImages
A M B E R WAV E S
36
Successful policies to mitigate the rise in obesity and other dietrelated health conditions in the U.S. depend on an understanding of
Americans’ eating patterns. Eating patterns encompass not only what
and how much people eat, but also when and where they eat, how
long they spend eating or snacking, and whether they dine alone or
with others.
The Eating & Health Module of the American Time Use Survey
(ATUS) collects information on Americans’ eating patterns, general
health, food and nutrition assistance program participation, grocery
shopping, and meal preparation. Funded by ERS and the National
Cancer Institute, the Module is a supplement to the U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics’ ATUS, a continuous survey that began in 2003. One
individual from each sampled household is interviewed about his or
her use of time for the 24-hour period on the day before the interview.
Survey respondents are asked to identify their primary activity if they
were engaged in more than one activity at a time.
According to 2006 ATUS and Module data, Americans age 15 and
older spent 67 minutes on an average day in “primary” eating and
drinking of beverages, that is eating/drinking as a self-reported main
activity. In addition, Americans spent an average of 16 minutes eating
and 42 minutes drinking beverages (except for plain water) as secondary activities, such as while working, watching television, or playing
sports. An additional 7 minutes were spent in associated activities
(such as travel time to a restaurant and waiting to order). Men and
women spent about the same amount of time eating/drinking.
Four percent of the U.S. population reported spending no time in
primary eating/drinking on an average day, but they did spend an average of 35 minutes in secondary eating and 107 minutes (1.8 hours) in
secondary drinking. Another 8 percent of the population, referred to as
“constant grazers,” spent an unusually long time eating and drinking—
4.5 hours or more each day. Most of this group’s food consumption time
was spent in secondary drinking or sipping of beverages.
About two-thirds of Americans’ primary eating/drinking occurrences were with family or others. However, only 42 percent were
with others for secondary eating or secondary drinking, with the rest
done either alone, at work, or while engaged in grooming or other personal care activities.
In 2006, men and women spent about the same
amount of time eating and drinking
Constant grazers spent over 6 hours a day in
secondary drinking
Average minutes per day
Average minutes per day
67.8
377.0
66.0
Men
Women
40.8
16.1
42.6
15.4
Total
population
66.9
People spending 4.5
hours or more eating
or drinking a day
83.7
79.6
41.8
15.8
Primary eating
and drinking
Secondary
eating
Secondary
drinking
Note: Data include civilian population age 15 and over.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2006 American Time Use Survey
and ERS 2006 Eating & Health Module.
Primary eating
and drinking
Secondary
eating
Secondary
drinking
Note: Data include civilian population age 15 and over.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2006 American Time Use Survey
and ERS 2006 Eating & Health Module.
E C O N O M I C R E S E A R C H S E RV I C E / U S DA
DATA F E AT U R E
S T A T I S T I C S
On an average day in 2006...
The top three places for primary
eating and drinking were:
Own home or yard—67.2%
Workplace—12.9%
Restaurant or bar—11.2%
The top three places for secondary
eating or drinking were:
Own home or yard—53.4%
Workplace—20.0%
Driving, walking, or biking—8.9%
The top five activities that accompanied secondary eating or drinking, by
average time spent engaged in eating and
drinking, were:
Attending or hosting social events—77.2
minutes
Paid working—70.3 minutes
Arts and entertainment (includes movies,
excludes sporting events)—68.5 minutes
Participating in sports, exercise, or
recreation—54.0 minutes
Lawn, garden, and houseplant care—46.8
minutes
The top five activities that accompanied secondary eating or drinking were:
Relaxing and leisure—29.2% (watching television and movies accounted for about
two-thirds of this category)
Paid working—19.5%
Socializing and communicating— 5.9%
Preparing, presenting, and cleaning up food
and drink—5.2%
Housework—4.4%
Source: ERS calculations using the Bureau of Labor Statistics American Time Use Survey and the ERS Eating & Health Module.
Lunch and dinner hours are peak eating and drinking times
Percent of Americans engaged in activity
50
Primary eating and drinking
Secondary eating
40
Secondary drinking
Any eating or drinking
30
37
20
0
4
6
8
a.m.
10
12
2
4
W W W. E R S. U S DA . G OV / A M B E RWAV E S
8
10
12
2
a.m.
Note: Data include civilian population age 15 and over.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2006 American Time Use Survey and ERS 2006
Eating & Health Module.
Americans of different weight categories spend about the same
time engaged in eating
Average minutes per day
67
68
68
65
Underweight: BMI<18.5
Normal weight: 18.5| File Type | application/pdf |
| File Title | Amber Waves, Issue 6, Vol. 3 -June 2008 |
| Subject | Agricultural Economics |
| Author | Sheila Sankaran, Executive Editor |
| File Modified | 2013-12-18 |
| File Created | 2008-05-21 |