Table 1.

Characteristics of the study population according to cooking frequency: US adults (aged ≥20 years) in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 2007–2010^†

	Total		Low cooking (0–1 times/week)‡		Medium cooking (2–5 times/week)‡		High cooking (6–7 times/week)‡
	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%	P for difference
Total	9569	100	802	8	3704	44	5063	48
Dieting status
Trying to lose weight	3839	43	337	42	1617	46	1885	40	0·003
Not trying to lose weight	5726	57	468	58	2087	54	3174	60
Body weight§
Healthy	2719	32	219	30	1025	31	1475	33	0·181
Overweight	3334	35	273	33	1306	36	1755	35
Obese	3269	33	289	37	1289	33	1691	32
Sex
Male	4710	49	429	53	1770	48	2511	49	0·051
Female	4859	51	373	47	1934	52	2552	51
Race/ethnicity
Non-Hispanic White	4739	75	337	66	1985	78	2417	73	<0·001
Non-Hispanic Black	1742	11	229	19	870	13	643	9
Hispanic	2651	14	207	15	712	9	1732	19
Other	437	6	29	5	137	5	271	8
Age
20–44 years	4309	49	365	50	1843	53	2101	45	<0·001
45–64 years	3146	36	245	33	1220	35	1681	36
≥65 years	2114	15	192	17	641	11	1281	18
Education
Less than high school	2651	18	202	20	694	12	1755	23	<0·001
High school (or GED)	2292	24	201	25	926	24	1165	24
More than high school	4614	58	397	55	2082	64	2135	52
Marital status
Currently married	4976	56	246	33	1848	55	2882	61	<0·001
Previously married	2101	17	275	29	793	17	1033	16
Living with a partner	765	8	44	5	317	8	404	8
Never married	1724	19	237	32	743	20	744	15
Employment status
Not employed	4065	35	336	35	1289	28	2440	41	<0·001
Part time (1–34 h/week)	1266	14	103	13	524	15	639	14
Full time (≥35 h/week)	4017	51	337	52	1774	57	1906	45
Country of birth
Born in the USA	7111	83	629	85	3116	89	3366	77	<0·001
Born in another country	2457	17	173	15	588	11	1696	23
Household size
1–3 persons	5864	64	606	78	2425	68	2833	59	<0·001
≥4 persons	3705	36	196	22	1279	32	2230	41
Food security
Full food security	6801	79	603	80	2764	82	3434	77	0·001
Marginal food security	1002	8	70	7	334	6	598	10
Low/very low food security	1758	13	128	12	602	11	1028	14
Income level
Low income ≤130 % FPL	2768	19	233	22	818	14	1717	24	<0·001
High income >130 % FPL	6801	81	569	78	2·886	86	3346	76

GED, General Educational Development; FPL, federal poverty level.

P value for difference is based on the χ ² test.

^†Percentage of the US population estimated with survey weights to adjust for unequal probability of sampling.

^‡Cooking frequency is the number of times per week the respondent or someone in the household cooked dinner.

^§Healthy weight, BMI=18·50–24·99 kg/m²; overweight, BMI=25·00–29·99 kg/m²; obese, BMI ≥30·00 kg/m².