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Bulletin
Number 86
November 2011
How Much Time Do
Americans Spend on Food?
Karen S. Hamrick, Margaret Andrews, Joanne Guthrie,
David Hopkins, and Ket McClelland
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Karen S. Hamrick, Margaret Andrews, Joanne Guthrie, David Hopkins, and
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A Report from the Economic Research Service
United States
Department
of Agriculture
Economic
Information
Bulletin
Number 86
www.ers.usda.gov
How Much Time Do Americans
Spend on Food?
November 2011
Karen S. Hamrick, Margaret Andrews,
Joanne Guthrie, David Hopkins, Ket McClelland
Abstract
This report uses data from the 2006-08 ERS Eating & Health Module of the American
Time Use Survey to present an overview of Americans’ eating and other food-related
time use patterns, including grocery shopping and meal preparation, and teenage time
use patterns in relation to school meals. On an average day, Americans age 15 and older
spent 67 minutes eating and drinking as a “primary” or main activity, and 23.5 minutes
eating and 63 minutes drinking beverages (except plain water) while doing something
such as watching television, driving, or working. Eleven percent of the population spent
at least 4.5 hours on an average day engaged in eating and drinking activities.
Keywords: Time use, eating patterns, obesity, BMI, school meals, grocery shopping,
meal preparation, Food Stamp Program, SNAP, National School Lunch Program, time
diary, time use survey, American Time Use Survey, multitasking.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge the support and assistance of our ERS colleagues
Jayachandran Variyam and Ephraim Leibtag. We would like to thank Rachel KrantzKent, the American Time Use Survey staff, and Dorinda Allard, Bureau of Labor
Statistics; David Berrigan, National Cancer Institute; Abigail Okrent, ERS; and Cathleen
Zick, University of Utah for helpful comments and suggestions. Special thanks are
extended to Dale Simms and Cynthia A. Ray for editorial and design assistance.
Contents
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Methods and Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Eating Behavior—How Many Minutes? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Age groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Extreme groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Employment status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Work schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Income group and SNAP participation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Eating Behavior—Where, When, With Whom,
and While doing what? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Where do Americans eat and drink? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
When do Americans eat and drink?—Time of day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
When do Americans eat and drink—Time of day in the context
of other activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
When do Americans eat and drink?—Frequency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
When do Americans eat and drink?—Weekdays, Weekends,
and Holidays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Whom are Americans with when they eat and drink? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
What other activities are Americans doing while eating
and drinking? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Time Use Patterns, BMI and General Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
General Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Meal Preparation and Grocery Shopping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
How long does it take? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Who does it? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Meals obtained at school . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Implications for Future Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Appendix tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Appendix—Technical information on calculation of estimates . . . . . . 58
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Summary
What Is the Issue?
ERS collected data on Americans’ time use patterns and eating, Body Mass
Index (BMI), USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP,
formerly the Food Stamp Program, FSP) participation, meals obtained at
school, and grocery shopping over 2006-08. The ERS-developed Eating &
Health Module of the nationally representative American Time Use Survey
was used to collect this information. This report presents extensive summary
statistics and analysis using this data for an average day over the 2006-08
period. Single-year estimates of food-related time use patterns have previously been analyzed. However, by studying 3 years of data together, we are
able to examine in greater detail various subgroups of the population.
Examining the eating patterns of the U.S. population is a key factor to
improving our understanding of the determinants of Americans’ nutrition
and health. Analyzing the time Americans spend in various activities, and in
particular food-related activities, may provide some insight into why nutrition and health outcomes vary over time and across different segments of the
population. A better understanding of these factors could improve programs
and policies targeted at reducing obesity and improving overall nutrition.
What Did the Study Find?
We looked at time use patterns for Americans age 15 and over and estimated
time spent in eating activities. We also analyzed time use patterns by BMI,
general health, and SNAP participation, as well as by other characteristics.
Our findings include the following:
• On an average day over 2006-08, Americans age 15 and older spent
about 2.5 hours eating or drinking. Slightly less than half of that time (67
minutes) was spent eating and drinking as a “primary” or main activity,
while the remaining time was spent in eating and drinking while doing
something else considered primary such as watching television, driving,
preparing meals, or working (78 minutes) and in waiting to eat or traveling to the meal destination (7 minutes). Eleven percent of the population spent at least 4.5 hours on an average day engaged in eating and
drinking activities.
• Lower income Americans, those with household incomes less than 185
percent of the poverty threshold, spend less time engaged in eating and
drinking activities than those with higher incomes.
• Those who engaged in secondary eating or drinking while driving,
working, grooming, or during meal preparation and cleanup had lowerthan-average BMIs, while those who engaged in secondary eating while
watching television had higher-than-average BMIs.
• Obese individuals, on average, spent just over 3 hours watching television per day, about 37 minutes more than those with normal weight.
• Women were more likely to grocery shop than men on an average day,
and spent more time shopping as well.
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• Teenagers who do not obtain breakfast or lunch at school engaged in
considerably more screentime (non-school computer time and watching
television) than teens who do obtain meals at school.
How Was the Study Conducted?
Data for this study come from the Eating & Health Module (EH Module),
a supplement to the American Time Use Survey (ATUS). The ATUS is
a Bureau of Labor Statistics survey that is conducted by the U.S. Census
Bureau. ERS and the National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute
funded the EH Module, which was fielded from January 2006 to December
2008. ERS compiles, analyzes, and releases the data collected from the
EH Module. Over 2006-08, the ATUS and EH Module resulted in a total
of 37,832 completed interviews. Weighting factors were used in order to
produce nationally representative estimates. The EH Module contains questions on:
• eating patterns;
• height, weight, and health status;
• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly Food Stamp
Program) participation, meals obtained at school by household children;
• household income; and
• grocery shopping and meal preparation.
Statistical differences discussed are significant at the 90-percent confidence
level.
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Introduction
Information on Americans’ eating patterns is one key to understanding the
issues related to the nutrition and health of the U.S. population. A better
understanding of Americans’ eating patterns, including the context of their
food consumption, can improve programs and policies targeted at reducing
obesity and improving overall nutrition and, more generally, inform
consumer education, food assistance programs, and product development/
marketing. Toward this goal, USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS)
developed, with joint funding by ERS and the National Cancer Institute,
a supplement to the nationally representative American Time Use Survey
(ATUS). This supplement—the Eating & Health Module (EH module)
fielded over 2006-08—contained questions on eating patterns, Body Mass
Index (BMI), participation in and income eligibility for food and nutrition
assistance programs, grocery shopping, and meal preparation.
This report presents national statistics using EH module data on time use
patterns related to eating, health, grocery shopping, and meal preparation.
Annual estimates from the 2006-08 American Time Use Survey have previously been reported by ERS,1 but analysis of 3 years’ of consecutive data can
provide greater detail on various subgroups of the population. In addition, the
pooled 2006-08 data smooth the year-to-year variation that resulted from a
change in the survey instrument.
1Estimates for each year over 200608, documentation, and the microdata
files are available at http://ers.usda.gov/
Data/ATUS/
Methods and Data
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ ATUS began in 2003 and is ongoing, with
the U.S. Census Bureau conducting the interviews.2 One individual age 15 or
older from each sampled household is interviewed about his or her activities
for the 24-hour period from 4 am the day before the interview to 4 am of the
interview day. Survey respondents are asked to identify their primary activity
(if they were engaged in more than one activity at a time), where they were,
and whom they were with. All ATUS respondents were also included in
the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Current Population Survey (CPS), and their
household labor force participation information from the CPS is updated
during the ATUS interview. As a consequence, ATUS data include time
diary, demographic, labor force participation, and household information.
The Eating & Health Module was fielded from January 2006 to December
2008. The ATUS collects over 12,000 completed interviews each year. Over
2006-08, the ATUS and EH Module resulted in 37,832 completed interviews
of individuals age 15 or over.3 Weighting factors calculated by the U.S.
Census Bureau applied to the individual ATUS and EH Module respondent
data produce nationally representative estimates for an average day over
2006-08.
The EH Module contains questions on eating patterns; height, weight, and
health status; Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly
Food Stamp Program) participation and income; meals obtained at school
by household children; and grocery shopping and meal preparation (see box,
“ATUS Eating and Health Module Questions”). The ATUS asks respondents
to report only their primary, or main, activities.4 However, Americans often
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2The ATUS conducts interviews
every day of the year except Thanksgiving and Christmas
3Some respondents completed the
ATUS survey but not the EH Module
questions. Over 2006-08, there were a
total of 82 of these cases, or 0.2 percent
of ATUS respondents.
4The ATUS collects information on
simultaneous childcare but does not ask
about any other multitasking or secondary activity.
ATUS Eating and Health Module Questions
Eating as a secondary activity
Because many Americans eat while engaged in other activities, such as driving or watching television,
information is needed on eating as both a primary and secondary activity.
Question: We’re interested in finding out more about how people fit meals and snacks into their schedules.
Yesterday, you reported eating or drinking between [fill times from respondent’s time diary]. Were there
any other times you were eating yesterday—for example while you were doing something else? About how
long would you say you were eating while you were [fill activity]? Not including plain water, were there
any other times yesterday when you were drinking any beverages? About how long would you say you were
drinking while you were [fill activity]?
Grocery shopping and meal preparation
Question: I’d like to ask a couple of questions about food preparation. Are you the person who usually
does the grocery shopping in your household? Are you the person who usually prepares the meals in your
household?
Food Stamp Program participation
This information allows analysis of the time use patterns of food stamp recipients versus others, particularly
low-income persons who are not participating in the program.
Question: In the past 30 days, did you or anyone in your household get food stamp benefits?
Breakfast and lunch obtained at school
Question: Please think back over the past week starting last [day of week] up to today, [day of week]. In the
past week, did [fill names of children in the household under age 18] eat a BREAKFAST that was prepared
and served at a school, a paid day care or Head Start center, or a summer day program? This question refers
to ONLY BREAKFASTS prepared at the school or center—not meals brought from home.
What about LUNCH? In the past week, did [fill names of children in the household under age 18] eat a LUNCH
that was prepared and served at a school, a paid day care or Head Start center, or a summer day program? This
question refers to ONLY LUNCHES prepared at the school or center—not meals brought from home.
Height, weight, and general health
From this self-reported information, Body Mass Index (BMI) can be calculated, and time use patterns, such as
activity levels and eating patterns, can be analyzed by BMI levels.
Question: I’m going to switch topics and ask you a few final questions about your physical health that might
affect how you use your time. In general, would you say that your health is Excellent, Very Good, Good,
Fair, or Poor? How tall are you without shoes? How much do you weigh without shoes?
Household income
This question asks if total household income before taxes was above or below a certain amount. The ATUS
Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing software automatically calculates the dollar amount of 185 and 130
percent of the poverty threshold based on the respondent’s household composition. These income thresholds
determine income eligibility for food assistance programs.
Question: Last month, was your total household income before taxes more or less than [fill 185 percent of
poverty threshold] per month?
If answer was LESS:
Was it more or less than [fill 130 percent of poverty threshold] per month?
A text version of the Eating & Health Module questionnaire is available at http://www.bls.gov/tus/ehmquestionnaire.pdf
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eat and drink while engaged in another activity—like watching television,
driving a vehicle, working, or grooming—that the individual considers as
primary. By determining and analyzing the time spent in both primary and
secondary eating/drinking, a more complete picture of Americans’ eating
patterns emerges.
The ATUS and EH Module provide information about eating/drinking
behavior that has not been available before for nationally representative data.
The ATUS is a time use survey, and so does not include food intake information. Nonetheless, the data provide important information on eating/drinking
duration, frequency, and context that allows for the characterization of eating
patterns across different groups.
Because Americans’ time use patterns do not change much from year to
year, the ATUS and EH Module data can be pooled over years to obtain estimates of average time use behavior. However, a survey instrument change in
October 2006 in the EH Module resulted in increased estimates of time spent
in secondary eating and secondary drinking. As of October 2006, respondents
could report that they were engaged in secondary eating and/or drinking “all
day,” excluding time spent in primary eating and sleeping, instead of reporting
secondary eating and/or drinking for each of their day’s activities. This shortanswer option of “all day” resulted in an increase in the average time spent
in secondary eating and secondary drinking from 2006 to 2008, while the
percentage of people engaged in any secondary eating or drinking remained
constant. Pooling the data over 3 years mitigates the methodology issues.5
Estimates of average time use are presented here using different age cutoffs
for different activities. Statistics in the Eating Behavior sections on average
time spent eating and drinking are presented for those age 15 and over,
utilizing the entire dataset. (Average time estimates for the population age
18 and over are also provided in the tables for readers who are interested in
average time spent by adult Americans.) In the Time Use Patterns, BMI, and
General Health sections, estimates of time spent by BMI are calculated for
those age 20 and older to correspond with the Centers for Disease Control
adult interpretation of BMI. Most estimates concerning meal preparation and
grocery shopping are for adults age 18 and over. In addition, SNAP (formerly
FSP) defines adults as those age 18 or older, so this cutoff is appropriate for
SNAP/FSP statistics. Finally, time use estimates pertaining to meals obtained
at school are for those adults age 19 and older in households with schoolage children or youth, or those age 15-18 who are in school. This cutoff is
because teenagers who are in high school and are age 18 can obtain meals at
school (see box, “Age Groups Used in Report Statistics”).
All estimates are for an average day over 2006-08. This measure provides a
way to see time allocation across the population. However, many activities
are not done on a daily basis, and some activities are never done by some
individuals. Grocery shopping and exercise are examples of activities that
exhibit day-to-day variation for an individual’s time use, and also variation
among individuals’ time use. These estimates are then a snapshot, short-term
measure of Americans’ time use. All estimates calculated from the ATUS
time diaries, and the ATUS and EH Module questionnaires are of selfreported information.
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5See http://www.ers.usda.gov/Data/
ATUS/Documentation.htm for more
information on the survey instrument
change.
Age Groups Used in Report Statistics
Report section
Age group
Reason
Eating Behavior—
How Many Minutes?
15 years old and over,
tables and text
Note: 18 years old and
over included in tables
Utilizes entire dataset
Eating Behavior—
Where, When, With
Whom, and While Doing
What?
15 years old and over,
tables and text
Note: 18 years old and
over included in tables
Utilizes entire dataset
Time Use Patterns, Body
Mass Index (BMI) and
General Health
20 years old and over
Adult BMI interpretation is
for age 20 and over
Meal Preparation and Grocery Shopping
How long does it take?
18 years old and over
Adults are of interest,
Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program
(SNAP)/Food Stamp
Program (FSP) definition
of adult
Who does it?
18 years old and over
Adults are of interest,
SNAP/FSP definition of
adult
Meals obtained at school
19 years old and over,
and 15-18 years old and
in school
Adults beyond high school
age with school-age children/youth in household,
and teens in school
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Eating Behavior—How Many Minutes?
On an average day over 2006-08, Americans age 15 or older spent an average
(mean) 67 minutes engaged in primary eating and drinking (the ATUS does
not separately report primary eating versus primary drinking), that is, eating
and drinking as a main activity. An additional 23.5 minutes were spent in
secondary eating, that is, eating while engaged in another activity considered primary, and 63 minutes in secondary drinking of beverages other than
plain water (table 1, appendix table 1). Men spent 69 minutes in primary
eating and drinking, whereas women spent only 65 minutes.6 The time spent
in secondary eating was about the same for men and women. Americans
spent, on average, an additional 7 minutes in other activities associated with
primary eating—travel to a meal location and waiting for food. Thus, the
6Statistical differences described in
the text are significant at the 90-percent
confidence level.
Table 1
Time spent in eating and drinking and percent of population age 15+ (18+) and older engaged
in each activity, on an average day over 2006-08
Average minutes per day,
civilian population
Average percentage
engaged in activity per day
Average minutes per day,
for persons who engaged
in the activity
Minutes
Percent
Minutes
Total
Men
Women
Total
Men
Women
Total
Men
Women
66.9
68.6
65.2
95.9
96.2
95.6
69.7
71.4
68.2
AGE 15 and older
Total time in primary eating
and drinking
Total time in associated
activities
7.4
7.9
6.9
25.6
27.3
24.1
28.9
29.1
28.7
Secondary eating
23.5
22.8
24.1
52.5
48.4
56.3
44.7
47.0
42.9
Secondary drinking
63.1
59.1
66.9
35.4
33.0
37.5
178.5
178.8
178.3
Total secondary eating and
drinking (adjusted for overlap)
77.7
73.5
81.6
53.9
49.9
57.7
144.1
147.3
141.5
152.0
150.1
153.8
NA
NA
NA
242.7
247.7
238.4
67.8
69.6
66.0
96.0
96.2
95.8
70.6
72.4
68.9
Total time in all eating &
drinking activities
AGE 18 and older
Total time in primary eating
and drinking
Total time in associated
activities
7.4
8.0
6.9
25.7
27.5
24.0
28.9
29.1
28.7
Secondary eating
23.9
23.1
24.6
52.1
48.2
55.7
45.9
48.0
44.2
Secondary drinking
65.1
61.0
68.9
35.5
33.1
37.7
183.5
184.1
183.1
Total secondary eating and
drinking (adjusted for overlap)
79.7
75.4
83.8
53.6
49.7
57.2
148.8
151.6
146.5
154.9
153.0
156.7
NA
NA
NA
248.3
253.2
244.0
Total time in all eating &
drinking activities
NA = Not applicable.
Notes: A primary activity refers to an individual’s main activity.
Primary eating & drinking includes Eating and drinking (110101 and 110199), Eating and drinking not elsewhere classified (119999) and Eating
and drinking as part of job (050202).
Travel times not included except in associated activities.
Total secondary eating and secondary drinking time (adjusted for overlap) is one-half the sum of the total time assuming all overlap (secondary
eating & drinking occur at the same time during a primary activity) plus the total time assuming no overlap (secondary eating & drinking occur
during the same primary activity, but not at the same time).
Source: 2006-08 Bureau of Labor Statistics American Time Use Survey and ERS Eating & Health Module data.
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average total time spent in eating and drinking activities was 152 minutes
(2.5 hours). (Average times were essentially the same for those age 18 or
older as for those 15 or older. See Appendix for technical information on
how estimates were calculated.)
Ninety-six percent of Americans engaged in primary eating eating and
drinking on an average day, 52.5 percent in secondary eating, and 35 percent
in secondary drinking. Since almost all Americans engage in primary eating
and drinking on an average day, the average time spent by “participants”—
those who engage in an activity, in this case primary eating and drinking—was
70 minutes, about the same as the average over the population, 67 minutes.
However, since secondary eating and drinking had a lower share of participation, participant times were considerably higher than the total population averages. Of those who engaged in secondary eating, the average time spent was 45
minutes, and for secondary drinking, 178.5 minutes (just under 3 hours).
Age Group
Individuals age 65 and over spent considerably more time in primary eating
and drinking than other age groups—81.5 minutes on an average day—and
less time in secondary eating and secondary drinking than did those age
18-64. Teenagers (age 15-17) spent the least amount of time in primary/
secondary eating/drinking (fig. 1, appendix table 2).
Region
Time spent in eating/drinking activities showed some variation across
regions (appendix table 3). Individuals residing in metro and nonmetro areas
spent about the same amount of time in primary eating and drinking and in
secondary eating, though respondents in nonmetro areas spent more time
Figure 1
Time spent in eating activities by age group,
on an average day over 2006-08
Minutes
90
80
Age 15−17
70
Age 18−24
60
Age 25−64
50
Age 65+
40
30
20
10
0
Total time in primary
eating and drinking
Secondary eating
Secondary drinking
Source: 2006-08 Bureau of Labor Statistics American Time Use Survey and ERS Eating
& Health Module data.
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in secondary drinking—73 minutes versus 61 minutes for metro residents.
Respondents in the Northeast and West spent more time in primary eating
and drinking than those in the Midwest or South.
Extreme Groups
EH module data allow analysis of those with extreme time behavior with
respect to eating activities. Of particular interest are constant grazers, those
who spent at least 4.5 hours a day (about twice the 2006 average time) on
primary or secondary eating or drinking activities, those with no primary
eating and drinking, and those who reported that they engaged in secondary
eating and/or secondary drinking “all day.”
Constant grazers, who made up 11 percent of the population age 15 and over,
spent 75 minutes engaged in primary eating and drinking, 133 minutes (2.2
hours) in secondary eating, and 483 minutes in secondary drinking (8 hours).
Constant grazers had a slightly lower rate of engaging in primary eating
and drinking than the total population, but much higher rates of engaging in
secondary eating (93 percent) and secondary drinking (90 percent). Constant
grazers’ average BMI was 27.3, which is not statistically different from
the total population average BMI of 27.1, and represents only a 1-pound
difference in weight for a person 5’ 6” tall. Both BMI values are above the
minimum for overweight (25.0).
Four percent of the population reported no primary eating and drinking (table
1), though they engaged in secondary eating and secondary drinking at much
higher rates (82 percent for secondary eating and 63 percent for secondary
drinking) than the total population and spent much longer doing so—51
minutes in secondary eating and 138 minutes (2.3 hours) in secondary
drinking. So, clearly this group offsets the time saved on meals with
secondary snacking over the course of the day.
In October 2006, “all day” became a response option for the secondary eating
and secondary drinking questions.7 “All day” does not include sleep time
or time spent in primary eating. Those who reported that they engaged in
secondary eating and/or secondary drinking “all day” had shorter average
times spent in primary eating than the total population. This reporting change
did not have much effect on average secondary eating times, but increased
average time reported for secondary drinking, a less defined activity than
secondary eating. If an individual takes a sip of coffee once every 10 or
15 minutes over 3 hours, is that 3 hours of secondary drinking? Since the
data are self-reported, it is the respondent’s view of what constitutes coffee
drinking that determines how the survey question is answered. Thus, the
responses reflect how individuals view their food consumption behavior.
Employment Status
Those employed spent less time in primary eating and drinking and more
time in secondary eating/drinking than those not employed (fig. 2). The
difference in secondary drinking times is considerable—71 minutes for those
employed versus 48.5 minutes for those not employed.
7
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7See http://www.ers.usda.gov/Data/
ATUS/Documentation.htm for more
information on the survey instrument
change.
Figure 2
Time spent in eating activities by employment status, on an average
day, 2006-08, age 15+
Minutes
80
70
Employed
60
Not employed
50
40
30
20
10
0
Total time in primary
eating and drinking
Secondary eating
Secondary drinking
Source: 2006-08 Bureau of Labor Statistics American Time Use Survey and ERS Eating
& Health Module data.
Work Schedule
Of those who are employed, does when they work make a difference in
their eating/drinking behavior over the day? Figure 3 and appendix table 4
show the time spent in eating and drinking activities for employed workers
by their work shift. This analysis includes only those respondents who were
employed and engaged in paid work at their workplace on their diary day.8
On an average day, not all employed persons would be working.
Those who performed at least half of their paid work time at their workplace
between 8 am and 4 pm are classified as day shift workers, between 4 pm and
12 am (midnight) as evening shift workers, and between 12 am (midnight)
and 8 am as night shift workers.9 Those who worked day shifts spent more
time in primary eating and drinking than those in other shifts, perhaps due to
their standard schedules.
Income Group and SNAP Participation
The EH Module data indicate whether the respondent’s household income
was above or below 185 percent/130 percent of the poverty threshold.
These levels correspond with the income eligibility thresholds for reducedprice school meals and for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for
Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) (185 percent), and for free school
meals and SNAP10 (130 percent).11
Those with household income greater than 185 percent of the poverty
threshold spent more time in all eating/drinking activities than those with
incomes below 185 percent (fig. 4.) The greater amounts of time spent in
secondary eating and drinking are likely due to the fact that those with higher
incomes are more likely to be employed than those with lower incomes. In
8
How Much Time Do Americans Spend on Food? / EIB-86
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8The analysis includes a small
number of individuals who engaged in
unpaid work for a family business (for
fewer than 15 hours/week) or who were
not employed but engaged in job search
activities, such as interviewing for jobs.
9Those who did not have a majority
of their paid work time at their workplace in any one shift were not included
in the analysis. Only those with a
minimum of 1 hour of paid work done
at the workplace were included. Otherwise, the definitions of work schedules
in Polivka (2008) were used. Because
the ATUS time diary is from 4 am to 4
am, night shift workers are identified
as those who performed at least half
of their paid work at their workplace
between 4 am and 8 am and/or between
12 am (midnight) and 4 am.
10Current regulations allow States to
raise gross income eligibility standards
above the Federal standard under some
circumstances.
11See USDA Food and Nutrition
Service for more information on food
and nutrition assistance programs and
eligibility, http://www.fns.usda.gov/fns/.
addition, those with higher incomes were more likely to eat out at a restaurant or bar—23 percent of those with higher incomes ate at a restaurant on an
average day, versus 13 percent of individuals with household incomes less
than 185 percent of the poverty threshold.
Figure 3
Time spent in eating/drinking activities by work shift, on an average
day worked 2006-08, age 15+
Minutes
80
Day shift
70
Evening shift
60
Night shift
50
40
30
20
10
0
Total time in primary
eating and drinking
Secondary eating
Secondary drinking
Source: 2006-08 Bureau of Labor Statistics American Time Use Survey and ERS Eating
& Health Module data.
Figure 4
Time spent in eating/drinking activities by income group,
average day 2006-08, age 15+
Minutes
80
70
Income less than 185%
poverty threshold
60
50
Income greater than 185%
poverty threshold
40
30
20
10
0
Total time in primary
eating and drinking
Secondary eating
Secondary drinking
Source: 2006-08 Bureau of Labor Statistics American Time Use Survey and ERS Eating
& Health Module data.
9
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Individuals in SNAP/FSP households spent less time in primary eating and
drinking and secondary drinking than income-eligible (household income
less than 130 percent of the poverty threshold) nonparticipating households
(fig. 5).12,13 Higher income, non-SNAP individuals spent more time in
primary eating than the other groups, perhaps due to more eating out. Indeed,
22.5 percent of this group ate at a restaurant on an average day, versus 9
percent of those in SNAP/FSP households and 13 percent of those in incomeeligible nonparticipating households. This is consistent with the SNAP/FSP
program structure, which requires that benefits be used to purchase food for
at-home consumption.
Figure 5
Time spent in eating/drinking activities by SNAP/FSP status,
on an average day 2006-08, age 15+
Minutes
80
SNAP/FSP participating
household
70
Income eligible nonparticipating household
60
50
Non-participating,
income > 130% poverty
threshold household
40
30
20
10
0
Total time in primary
eating/drinking
Secondary eating
Secondary drinking
SNAP = Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; FSP = Food Stamp Program.
Source: 2006-08 Bureau of Labor Statistics American Time Use Survey and ERS Eating
& Health Module data.
10
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12The Food Stamp Program (FSP)
was renamed the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) as of
October 1, 2008. The ATUS and EH
Module data were collected from January 2006 to December 2008, so most of
the data collection took place when the
program was the FSP. However, since
SNAP is the current program name,
SNAP or SNAP/FSP is used here.
13Estimates in this report should
not be used to estimate the number of
SNAP/FSP participants or case loads
for a variety of reasons, including that
the ATUS and EH Module data include
only those age 15 and over, and so
do not contain the entire SNAP/FSP
population. See Hamrick (2010, p. 13)
for more information.
Eating Behavior—Where, When, With Whom, and
While Doing What?
Understanding Americans’ eating patterns over the course of a day, not
just a summary snapshot of the day, provides a detailed picture of eating
behavior. How many times a day do Americans engage in eating or drinking?
What times of day are they eating or drinking? It is also useful to understand the context of eating patterns. Where are individuals when they are
eating/drinking? Whom are they with? What are their primary activities
while they are engaged in secondary eating or drinking? All of this information together highlights differences in eating patterns across groups,
particularly body mass index (BMI) groups. There is extensive literature
devoted to Americans’ eating patterns,14 especially as they affect obesity.
Some researchers have found that context, or environment, plays a role in
America’s obesity problem;15 the ATUS/EH data are a rich source of eating
context information.
Where Do Americans Eat and Drink?
Over two-thirds of Americans’ primary eating and drinking occurrences,
on an average day in 2006-08, took place at home (fig. 6a). The next most
frequent primary eating and drinking location (13 percent) was at the workplace. A close third is a restaurant or bar, at 11 percent. Only 4 percent
of eating/drinking occurrences took place in someone else’s home. The
remaining primary eating and drinking occurrences took place at a variety of
locations and in transportation modes, with no single location having more
than 2 percent of total occurrences.
Figure 6a
Where primary eating/drinking takes place, percent of occurrences,
2006-08, age 15+
3.9
4.5 0.2
11.1
Own home or yard
Workplace
Restaurant or bar
12.8
67.5
Someone else’s home
Other places
Modes of transportation
Source: 2006-08 Bureau of Labor Statistics American Time Use Survey and ERS Eating
& Health Module data.
11
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14See Ma et al., 2003; and Howarth et
al., 2007.
15See French, Story, and Jeffery,
2001; and Guthrie, Lin, and Frazão,
2002.
Figure 6b
Where secondary eating/drinking takes place, percent of occurrences,
2006-08, age 15+
3.6
10.7
4.7
Own home or yard
Workplace
5.3
48.6
While driving vehicle
During personal care
11.3
Someone else’s home
Other places
15.8
Other modes of
transportation
Source: 2006-08 Bureau of Labor Statistics American Time Use Survey and ERS Eating
& Health Module data.
For secondary eating and drinking, 49 percent of occurrences took place
at home (fig. 6b) and 16 percent at the workplace. The third most frequent
location (11 percent) was while driving. Five percent of secondary eating/
drinking occurrences took place while individuals were engaged in personal
care (location is not reported for personal care activities), and another 5
percent while at someone else’s home.
Though restaurants or bars accounted for only 11 percent of eating/drinking
occurrences, they represented 20 percent of the time spent in primary eating
and drinking (fig. 7a), indicating more leisurely occurrences. For secondary
eating/drinking (fig. 7b), the main difference in the percentages of occurrences and time spent is at the workplace—16 percent of occurrences versus
27 percent of time spent.
When Do Americans Eat and Drink?—Time of Day
Americans have two peak times for eating and drinking—noon to 1 pm and
6 to 7 pm—when 40 percent or more of Americans are engaged in primary
or secondary eating/drinking (fig. 8). The morning peak is from 7 to 8 am,
and is not as pronounced for primary eating and drinking as the later peaks.
For the 13 hours from 9 am to 10 pm, 5-10 percent of Americans are engaged
in secondary eating, and likewise 5-10 percent are engaged in secondary
drinking. Men and women have similar eating/drinking patterns over the
course of the day; however, women are more likely than men to be engaged
in eating/drinking in the morning and in the afternoon, and less likely overnight from 11 pm to 7 am (fig. 9). This finding correlates with the fact that
men are more likely than are women to work on night shift jobs, according to
analysis of the ATUS data (Polivka, 2008).
12
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Figure 7a
Where primary eating/drinking takes place, percent of time spent,
2006-08, age 15+
4.8
4.8 0.2
Own home or yard
19.9
Workplace
59.4
Restaurant or bar
Someone else’s home
Other places
Modes of transportation
11.0
Source: 2006-08 Bureau of Labor Statistics American Time Use Survey and ERS Eating
& Health Module data.
Figure 7b
Where secondary eating/drinking takes places, percent of time spent,
2006-08, age 15+
4.4
3.1 1.7
5.8
Own home or yard
Workplace
11.4
46.6
While driving vehicle
During personal care
Someone else’s home
Other places
27.1
Other modes of
transportation
Source: 2006-08 Bureau of Labor Statistics American Time Use Survey and ERS Eating
& Health Module data.
The primary eating and drinking patterns for constant grazers are the same
as others’ in terms of when they eat/drink as a main activity. However, 20
percent of this group was engaged in secondary eating during any given hour
from 9 am to 10 pm (fig. 10), whereas only about 5 percent of the rest of
Americans were engaged in secondary eating during those 12 hours. Also,
over 50 percent of the constant grazers were engaged in secondary drinking
at any time over this same time period.
13
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Figure 8
Percentage of Americans engaged in eating and drinking by time of day, 2006-08, age 15+
Percent
50
Primary eating and drinking
45
Secondary eating
40
Secondary drinking
35
Either primary or secondary
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
am
11 12
1
noon
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
pm
12 1
mid
night
2
3
am
Source: 2006-08 Bureau of Labor Statistics American Time Use Survey and ERS Eating & Health Module data.
Figure 9
Percentage of Americans engaged in eating and drinking by time of day, 2006-08, age 15+, by gender
Percent
50
45
Men primary eating and drinking
Men secondary eating
Women primary eating and drinking
Women secondary eating
40
Men secondary drinking
Women secondary drinking
35
Men either primary or
secondary
Women either primary or
secondary
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
4
5
6
7
am
8
9
10
11 12
1
noon
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
pm
Source: 2006-08 Bureau of Labor Statistics American Time Use Survey and ERS Eating & Health Module data.
14
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11
12
1
mid
night
2
am
3
Figure 10
Percentage of constant grazers engaged in eating and drinking by time of day, 2006-08, age 15+
Percent
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
4
5
6
7
am
8
9
10
11 12
1
noon
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
pm
CG-Primary eating and drinking
Not CG-Primary eating and drinking
CG-Secondary eating
Not CG-Secondary eating
CG-Secondary drinking
Not CG-Secondary drinking
CG-Either primary or secondary
Not CG-Either primary or secondary
12
1
mid
night
2
3
am
Source: 2006-08 Bureau of Labor Statistics American Time Use Survey and ERS Eating & Health Module data.
When Do Americans Eat and Drink—Time of Day in the
Context of Other Activities
Time spent sleeping dominates all activities over much of the day (fig. 11),
with over 90 percent of Americans age 15 and over asleep between 2 am and
3 am.16 Primary eating and drinking peak at noon and 6 pm, and other activities adjust around this activity. For example, the paid work and caring activity
bands narrow at noon as more Americans focus on lunch.
When Do Americans Eat and Drink—Frequency
On an average day over 2006-08, Americans age 15 and over had an average
of 2 primary eating and drinking occurrences, 0.8 secondary eating occurrence,
and 1 secondary drinking occurrence (table 2). This totals to about four eating/
drinking occurrences (not adjusting for possible overlap of secondary eating/
drinking) per person. The average number of eating occurrences was consistent
across subgroups, though men had fewer occurrences (3.7) than women (4.2).
Also, Americans had more eating/drinking occurrences on weekdays (4.0) than
on weekends/holidays (3.8). Those employed had more eating/drinking occurrences than those not employed: 4.0 versus 3.7. Employed persons had fewer
primary eating and drinking occurrences but more secondary eating/drinking
occurrences than those not employed.
15
How Much Time Do Americans Spend on Food? / EIB-86
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16Sleeping is defined as ATUS activities 0101xx. Primary eating & drinking
is 1101xx, 119999, and 050202. Paid
work is all of 05xxxx except 050202.
Educational activities is 06xxxx.
Household purchasing activities is
02xxxx, 07xxxx, 08xxxx, 09xxxx, and
16xxxx. Caring activities—for self
& others is 0102xx, 0103xx, 0104xx,
019999, 03xxxx, and 04xxxx. Recreational and other activities is 10xxxx,
1102xx, 12xxxx, 13xxxx, 14xxxx,
15xxxx, and 50xxxx. Travel is 18xxxx.
Figure 11
Percent of Americans engaged in activities by time of day, 2006-08, age 15+
Percent
100
Travel
90
80
Recreation
70
Caring
60
50
Education
HH activities
& purchase
40
30
Sleeping
Paid work
20
Primary eating
& drinking
10
0
4
5
6
7
am
8
9
10
11 12
noon
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
pm
11
12 1
mid
night
2
3
am
Percentages here will not match percentages in the previous section. Because individuals may engage in more than one primary activity in a
given hour, the sum of the percentages adds to more than 100 percent. The chart above re-indexes the percentages of the activities so that the
sum adds to 100 percent. All primary activities are included in the eight major categories.
Source: 2006-08 Bureau of Labor Statistics American Time Use Survey and ERS Eating & Health Module data.
When Do Americans Eat and Drink?—Weekdays,
Weekends, and Holidays
Eating/drinking behavior differences between weekdays and weekends/holidays17 are as expected—both men and women spend more time in primary
eating on weekends/holidays than on weekdays (fig. 12). Secondary eating/
drinking is about the same between the weekdays and weekends/holidays
for both men and women. So, Americans spent less time eating/drinking on
weekdays but had more eating occurrences, and had fewer eating occurrences
on the weekends, but spent more time engaged in eating/drinking.
Whom Are Americans With When They Eat and Drink?
Not surprisingly, people who live alone were more likely to eat alone over
2006-08. Individuals in single-person households ate alone for primary eating
and drinking 71 percent of the time (fig. 13a). For secondary eating/drinking,
58 percent of the time they ate or drank alone, and an additional 23 percent
of secondary eating/drinking occurrences were at work or while grooming (or
other personal care) (fig. 13b). (The ATUS does not collect information on
whether the respondent was alone or with someone while at work or engaged
in a personal activity.)
16
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17Weekdays are Monday through Friday; weekends are Saturday and Sunday;
holidays are New Year’s Day, Easter,
Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor
Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
Table 2
Frequency of eating occurrences, on an average day, 2006-08
Number of eating/
drinking occurrences on an average day, 2006-08
Primary eating/drinking
occurrences
Secondary
eating occurrences
Secondary
drinking
occurrences
Simple total
(not adjusted
for possible
overlap)
Age 15+
Total population
2.04
0.83
1.06
3.90
Men
2.08
.74
.88
3.70
Women
2.01
.92
1.23
4.16
Employed
2.02
.87
1.14
4.03
Not employed
2.10
.76
.91
3.77
Metro
2.04
.84
1.02
3.90
Nonmetro
2.07
.78
1.23
4.08
Weekdays
2.09
.84
1.08
4.01
Weekends
1.94
.80
1.02
3.76
2.05
.83
1.08
3.96
Men
2.08
.74
.90
3.72
Women
2.02
.92
1.26
4.20
Employed
2.02
.87
1.15
4.04
Not employed
2.10
.75
.94
3.79
Metro
2.04
.84
1.05
3.93
Age 18+
Total population
Nonmetro
2.08
.78
1.24
4.10
Weekdays
2.09
.84
1.10
4.03
Weekends
1.94
.80
1.04
3.78
Source: 2006-08 Bureau of Labor Statistics American Time Use Survey and ERS Eating &
Health Module data.
Figure 12
Time spent in eating/drinking activities, weekdays and weekends/
holidays, by sex, on an average day over 2006-08, age 15+
Minutes
80
Men-weekdays
70
Women-weekdays
60
50
Men-weekends/holidays
40
Women-weekends/
holidays
30
20
10
0
Total time in
primary eating
Secondary eating
Secondary drinking
Source: 2006-08 Bureau of Labor Statistics American Time Use Survey and ERS Eating
& Health Module data.
17
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Figure 13a
Single-person households, 2006-08, primary eating
With others
29%
Alone
71%
Source: 2006-08 Bureau of Labor Statistics American Time Use Survey and ERS Eating
& Health Module data.
Figure 13b
Single-person households, 2006-08, secondary eating/drinking
Grooming/other
personal care 6%
At work
17%
With others
19%
Alone
58%
Source: 2006-08 Bureau of Labor Statistics American Time Use Survey and ERS Eating
& Health Module data.
18
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People in multi-person households (two or more people) ate with household members 56 percent of the time for primary eating and drinking,
and 36 percent of the time for secondary eating/drinking (figures 14a and
14b). About a third of secondary eating/drinking occurrences were alone.
Twenty-one percent of secondary eating/drinking occurrences were at work
or while grooming, about the same as for those who live alone.
Figure 14a
Multi-person households, 2006-08, primary eating
With others
17%
Alone
27%
With household
members 56%
Source: 2006-08 Bureau of Labor Statistics American Time Use Survey and ERS Eating
& Health Module data.
Figure 14b
Multi-person households, 2006-08, secondary eating/drinking
Grooming/other
personal care 5%
At work
16%
Alone
32%
With others
11%
With household
members 36%
Source: 2006-08 Bureau of Labor Statistics American Time Use Survey and ERS Eating
& Health Module data.
19
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What Other Activities Are Americans Doing While
Eating and Drinking?
The ATUS includes over 400 detailed activities used in the coding of time
diaries. Over 2006-08, secondary eating and drinking occurred in all of those
activities except sleeping and primary eating and drinking. By far, the activities that most often accompanied secondary eating/drinking were watching
television (17 percent of occurrences) and engaging in paid work (15.5
percent). The next most frequent were socializing with others (5 percent),
self-grooming (5 percent), and food and drink preparation (4 percent).
Table 4 provides the characteristics of those who engaged in secondary
eating/drinking by the most prevalent primary groups of activities—
secondary eating while driving, working, watching television, preparing
meals or meal cleanup, and grooming. Secondary eating is a more defined
activity than secondary drinking, and so is a stronger indicator of eating/
drinking behavior. Also included is the average body mass index (BMI)
of those who engaged in secondary eating for each activity to determine if
different types of multi-tasking are associated with different eating patterns
or with different BMIs.
Those who engaged in secondary eating while driving, working, watching
television, preparing meals/meal cleanup, or grooming spent roughly 10
minutes less in primary eating and drinking on an average day than the
total population. As expected, this group spent much longer, on average, in
secondary eating and drinking—the total population average includes those
who had no secondary eating or drinking.
For those who engaged in secondary eating while driving, working, preparing
meals/meal cleanup, or grooming, the average BMI is about the same or lower
as that of the total population, age 15 and over (27.1). However, for those who
engaged in secondary eating while watching television, the average BMI is
27.6. For an individual who is 5’6”, the difference of 0.5 BMI represents 3
pounds. This finding suggests that it is not just secondary eating but the accompanying activity that may be associated with higher BMIs.
Table 3
Top 10 activities that accompanied secondary eating/drinking,
2006-08, age 15+
ATUS
activity code
Activity
120303
Television and movies (not religious)
16.8
050101
Work, main job
15.5
120101
Socializing and communicating with others
5.2
010201
Washing, dressing and grooming oneself
5.0
020201
Food and drink preparation
4.4
180501
Travel related to working
3.5
180782
Travel related to shopping (except grocery shopping)
3.0
120312
Reading for personal interest
2.9
120301
Relaxing, thinking
2.5
020101
Household--interior cleaning
2.5
Percent
20
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Table 4
Time spent on secondary eating/drinking by selected accompanying activity
on an average day, 2006-08
AGE 15+
Total
Men
Women
Total population
Total time in primary eating
Minutes on an average day
67.2
69.0
65.4
Secondary eating
Minutes on an average day
23.7
23.2
24.3
Secondary drinking
Minutes on an average day
64.0
60.2
67.9
Body Mass Index
Average BMI
27.1
27.6
26.7
Total time in primary eating
Minutes on an average day
54.2
55.0
53.5
Secondary eating
Minutes on an average day
130.7
136.0
125.5
Secondary drinking
Minutes on an average day
163.8
187.3
140.8
Body Mass Index
Average BMI
26.6
27.9
25.4
54.4
56.4
52.4
Engaged in secondary eating while driving
Engaged in secondary eating while performing paid work
Total time in primary eating
Minutes on an average day
Secondary eating
Minutes on an average day
60.6
64.5
56.7
Secondary drinking
Minutes on an average day
139.5
143.5
135.6
Body Mass Index
Average BMI
27.0
27.7
26.3
Engaged in secondary eating while watching television
Total time in primary eating
Minutes on an average day
59.6
60.5
58.6
Secondary eating
Minutes on an average day
68.7
68.6
68.8
Secondary drinking
Minutes on an average day
120.0
117.6
122.4
Body Mass Index
Average BMI
27.6
28.0
27.1
Engaged in secondary eating while preparing meals or during meal cleanup
Total time in primary eating
Minutes on an average day
54.0
54.9
53.7
Secondary eating
Minutes on an average day
140.1
178.9
124.8
Secondary drinking
Minutes on an average day
147.5
156.3
144.0
Body Mass Index
Average BMI
26.7
27.2
26.6
Total time in primary eating
Minutes on an average day
57.2
56.0
58.0
Secondary eating
Minutes on an average day
215.4
246.9
195.4
Secondary drinking
Minutes on an average day
164.9
165.0
164.8
Body Mass Index
Average BMI
25.9
27.1
25.1
Engaged in secondary eating while grooming
—continued
21
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Table 4
Time spent on secondary eating/drinking by selected accompanying activity
on an average day, 2006-08—continued
AGE 18+ continued
Total
Men
Women
AGE 18+
Total population
Total time in primary eating
Minutes on an average day
68.1
69.9
66.3
Secondary eating
Minutes on an average day
24.1
23.5
24.8
Secondary drinking
Minutes on an average day
66.0
62.0
70.0
Body Mass Index
Average BMI
27.4
27.8
26.9
Total time in primary eating
Minutes on an average day
54.4
55.0
53.8
Secondary eating
Minutes on an average day
131.1
134.2
127.9
Secondary drinking
Minutes on an average day
165.5
187.6
143.8
Body Mass Index
Average BMI
26.8
28.0
25.5
Engaged in secondary eating while driving
Engaged in secondary eating while performing paid work
Total time in primary eating
Minutes on an average day
54.7
56.7
52.8
Secondary eating
Minutes on an average day
60.6
64.1
57.2
Secondary drinking
Minutes on an average day
140.4
143.8
137.0
Body Mass Index
Average BMI
27.0
27.8
26.3
Total time in primary eating
Minutes on an average day
60.2
61.0
59.4
Secondary eating
Minutes on an average day
70.2
69.2
71.2
Secondary drinking
Minutes on an average day
122.4
119.4
125.6
Body Mass Index
Average BMI
27.9
28.3
27.4
Engaged in secondary eating while watching television
Engaged in secondary eating while preparing meals or during meal cleanup
Total time in primary eating
Minutes on an average day
54.3
55.5
53.9
Secondary eating
Minutes on an average day
140.0
174.6
126.4
Secondary drinking
Minutes on an average day
149.7
159.7
145.8
Body Mass Index
Average BMI
26.8
27.3
26.6
Total time in primary eating
Minutes on an average day
58.2
56.5
59.3
Secondary eating
Minutes on an average day
235.6
262.5
218.2
Secondary drinking
Minutes on an average day
179.6
178.7
180.1
Body Mass Index
Average BMI
26.3
27.6
25.5
Engaged in secondary eating while grooming
Note: A primary activity refers to an individual’s main activity. Travel times not included.
Primary eating & drinking includes Eating and drinking (110101 and 110199), Eating and drinking not elsewhere classified (n.e.c.) (119999),
and Eating and drinking as part of job (050202). Driving is 18xxxx (travel with TEWHERE=12). Paid work is 05xxxx. Watching television is
120303 and 120304. Preparing meals is 0202xx. Grooming is 0102xx. BMI = Body Mass Index.
Source: 2006-08 Bureau of Labor Statistics American Time Use Survey and ERS Eating & Health Module data.
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Time Use Patterns, BMI, and General Health
Obesity is the most common food and nutrition-related health problem in
America. The ATUS and EH Module data allow research on the types of
activities and eating patterns that are associated with obesity and those that
are associated with healthy weight, overall health, and well-being.
The Eating & Health Module asked ATUS respondents their height and
weight, which allows the calculation of body mass index (BMI).18 BMI can
then be analyzed in conjunction with time diary, demographic, and labor
force information. Although self-reported, researchers have found that differences between self-reported BMI and measured BMI are small, and so are
acceptable to use for analysis of nonelderly adults.19 In addition, the expected
underreporting of BMI (through underreporting of weight and/or overreporting of height) in the EH Module data does not appear to be large.20 So
while the EH Module BMIs should not be used to obtain an official measure
of obesity in the United States, the data are suitable for analyzing time use
behavior as it relates to BMI.
Table 5 shows eating/drinking mean times among the BMI groups for
Americans age 20 and over.21 Only 1.4 percent of the ATUS and EH Module
survey respondents age 20 and over are underweight.22 Because this group
is so small, the discussion in this section focuses on those who are normal
weight, overweight, and obese. Those with normal weight have a mean duration of primary eating longer than that for the other groups. In addition, the
time spent in secondary eating is longer as well. Although these differences
in times spent appear small, these small amounts of time add up, and result in
different eating patterns.
It may be that the eating pattern differences among the weight groups are
not captured by absolute time spent, but by the relative time spent in primary
and secondary eating/drinking. Underweight, normal-weight, and overweight
persons had higher ratios of primary to secondary eating/drinking than those
who were obese (fig. 15), which may indicate that obese individuals were
doing more “mindless” eating/drinking (Wansink, 2004).
Some activities exhibit clear differences in the time spent across BMI groups
(fig. 16). (Appendix table 5 presents the time spent on all major activities
by BMI group and by employment status.) Those who are overweight spent
the longest amount of time working of the BMI groups, at 233 minutes (3.9
hours) time spent in paid work on an average day. This total may seem low,
but it is averaged over those employed (full- and part-time) and those not
employed, and averaged over 7 days of the week, including holidays. The
higher work time average for obese respondents may indicate that those who
spend more time working have less time for activities that contribute to a
healthy lifestyle.
The average time spent watching television rises from those who are normal
weight (146.5 minutes or 2.4 hours) to those who are overweight (164
minutes or 2.7 hours) to those who are obese (184 minutes or 3.1 hours).23
The difference in time spent watching TV between those of normal weight
and those who are obese is 37 minutes a day.
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18All height and weight values are
self-reported. Height and weight are
bottom- and top-coded for confidentiality. The EH Module includes a screening question for pregnancy as pregnant
women were not asked their weight and
so have missing BMIs. See Hamrick
(2010), Eating and Health Module
User’s Guide for more information. See
http://www.ers.usda.gov/Data/ATUS/
Documentation.htm for discussion
of nonresponse bias of missing Body
Mass Index (BMI) values.
19Cawley and Burkhauser, 2006;
Kuczmarski, Kuczmarski, and Najjar,
2001.
20Pinkston
and Steward, 2009.
21Body
Mass Index for adults age 20
or over is calculated as: weight (LB)
/ [height (in)]2 x 703. BMI groups are
underweight (BMI < 18.5), normal
weight (18.5 ≤ BMI < 25), overweight
(25 ≤ BMI < 30), and obese (30 ≤
BMI). For purposes of interpreting
BMI, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention define adults as those age 20
and over. See CDC for more information on adult BMI: http://www.cdc.
gov/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/index.
html
22Those who are underweight are
younger, on average, than other persons, with an average age of 41 years
versus 47 for those not underweight
and over 20 years old. Twenty percent
are age 20-24, versus 9 percent for
the other BMI groups. Those who
are underweight are less likely to be
employed and more likely to have
household income less than 185 percent
of the poverty threshold.
23See Wansink (2004) for a discussion of how watching television can
prolong food consumption.
Table 5
Time spent in eating/drinking activities by BMI group (age 20+) on an average day over 2006-08
Average minutes per day,
population
Average minutes per day,
men
Average minutes per day,
women
Total time in primary eating & drinking
65.8
61.9
67.0
Secondary eating
20.7
20.6
20.8
Secondary drinking
76.2
87.4
72.9
Total time in primary eating & drinking
71.0
73.7
69.3
Secondary eating
27.9
25.4
29.5
Secondary drinking
66.8
60.5
70.8
Total time in primary eating & drinking
68.8
70.3
66.6
Secondary eating
22.9
22.8
22.9
Secondary drinking
62.2
60.8
64.3
Total time in primary eating & drinking
65.1
67.8
62.1
Secondary eating
20.6
22.2
18.8
Secondary drinking
70.4
67.0
74.2
BMI GROUPS
Underweight
Normal weight
Overweight
Obese
Note: A primary activity refers to an individual’s main activity.
Primary eating & drinking includes Eating and drinking (110101 and 110199), Eating and drinking not elsewhere classified (119999) and Eating
and drinking as part of job (050202).
Underweight is BMI<18.5, 18.5 ≤ BMI < 25.0 is Normal weight, 25.0 ≤ BMI < 30.0 is Overweight, 30.0 ≤ BMI is Obese. Pregnant women not
included in weight and BMI estimates.
Source: 2006-08 Bureau of Labor Statistics American Time Use Survey and ERS Eating & Health Module data.
Figure 15
Ratio of time spent in primary and secondary eating and drinking
on an average day over 2006-08, age 20+
Number
9
Ratio of primary eating/drinking to secondary eating/drinking
Ratio of primary eating/drinking to secondary eating
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Total
Population
Underweight
Normal
weight
Overweight
Obese
Source: 2006-08 Bureau of Labor Statistics American Time Use Survey and ERS Eating &
Health Module data.
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Figure 16
Selected activities by BMI group
Meal prep and cleanup
Minutes
40
30
20
10
0
Total population
Underweight
Minutes
250
Normal weight
Overweight
Obese
Paid work
200
150
100
50
0
Total population
Underweight
Normal weight
Overweight
Obese
Overweight
Obese
Watching TV
Minutes
200
150
100
50
0
Total population
Underweight
Normal weight
Sports & exercise
Minutes
20
15
10
5
0
Total population
Underweight
Normal weight
Overweight
Source: 2006-08 Bureau of Labor Statistics American Time Use Survey and ERS Eating & Health Module data.
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Obese
Finally, normal-weight respondents spent the longest average time engaged
in sports and exercise, 18.3 minutes on an average day, while those who were
obese averaged only 12.2 minutes.
General Health
The EH Module included a question on general health—In general, would
you say that your health is Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, or Poor?
Self-rated health status is an inexpensive measure from a survey instrument
standpoint that has been found to provide meaningful information on health
and well-being. Self-reported general health status has been found to predict
mortality and morbidity and is used in other Federal surveys to assess overall
well-being.24
24Hennessy
et al., 1994.
Time spent in various activities by health status is as expected (appendix
table 6). Those with poor health spend more time sleeping than others and
less time in paid work. (Time spent sleeping is over a 24-hour period, not just
overnight.) Those with good, fair, and poor health spent less time engaged
in primary eating and drinking than those with excellent or very good health
(fig. 17). With only this information, it is difficult to determine what the
relationship is between primary eating and drinking time and health; further
research is needed to identify the relationships underlying this association.
Eighty-three percent of those age 20 or over reported excellent, very good,
or good health. The distribution of health status between men and women
is essentially the same. Those with household income less than 185 percent
of the poverty threshold had, on average, worse health status than those
with higher incomes. Those participating in SNAP/FSP and those who
were income-eligible non-participants reported worse health status and
higher BMIs, on average, than nonparticipants with higher income. Metro
and nonmetro residents had essentially the same health status distributions.
However, nonmetro residents had higher BMIs than those in metro areas.
Figure 17
Time spent in eating/drinking activities by general health status, age 20+
Minutes
80
Primary eating
Secondary eating
Secondary drinking
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Total population
Excellent
Very good
Good
Fair
Source: 2006-08 Bureau of Labor Statistics American Time Use Survey and ERS Eating & Health Module data.
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Poor
Meal Preparation and Grocery Shopping
How Long Does It Take?
Retail market changes over the years have changed the patterns of how individuals shop. Better understanding of shopping patterns can inform research
on the impact of food industry changes. On an average day over 2006-08,
about 14 percent of Americans age 18 and over shopped for groceries (table
6).25 Thus, grocery shopping is not an activity that people typically do every
day. The average time spent in grocery shopping for those who shopped was
44 minutes.
Women were more likely to grocery shop than men and spent more time
shopping than men as well. Those age 65 and over were the most likely of
the age groups to shop on an average day. Those employed were less likely
to shop on an average day, and employed individuals spent less time grocery
shopping than those not employed.
25We do not include travel time to
grocery shopping in our analysis here.
A 2009 USDA report to Congress (Ver
Ploeg et al., 2009) presented findings
of a study on “food deserts,” areas that
have limited access to affordable, nutritious food. Time spent in travel to and
from grocery shopping was analyzed.
Individuals in low-income areas with
low supermarket access have longer
travel times to the grocery store, go
grocery shopping less frequently, and
are more likely to use work as an “anchor” for grocery shopping than others.
Table 6
Time spent in grocery shopping on an average day over 2006-08
Average grocery
shopping time, total
population (minutes)
Average percent engaged in
grocery shopping (percent)
Average grocery shopping
time, participants (minutes)
6.1
13.9
44.3
Men
4.3
10.4
41.0
Women
7.9
17.1
46.2
Age 18-24
4.1
8.3
49.1
Age 25-64
6.1
14.4
42.7
Age 65+
7.7
15.8
48.7
Employed
5.4
13.0
41.7
Not employed
7.7
15.7
48.8
Income >185% poverty threshold
6.1
14.4
42.5
Income < 185% poverty threshold
6.3
13.0
48.2
Income missing
5.9
11.3
51.9
SNAP/FSP participant household
7.2
13.3
53.9
Non-SNAP but income eligible
5.8
12.8
44.8
Non-SNAP, income>130% poverty threshold
6.2
14.2
43.2
Metro
6.3
14.1
44.5
Nonmetro
5.4
12.6
43.1
Total population
Gender
Age group
Employment
Income group
SNAP/FSP participation
Region
Grocery shopping is 070101.
Participants are those who engaged in grocery shopping on their diary day.
Travel times not included.
Sources: 2006-08 American Time Use Survey and Eating and Health Module data.
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Those with higher household incomes were more likely to grocery shop on
an average day than those with household incomes less than 185 percent of
the poverty threshold. The different participation rates—14.4 percent for
higher income individuals and 13.0 percent for lower income individuals—is
equivalent to higher income individuals shopping once every 6.9 days and
lower income individuals shopping once every 7.7 days, almost a 1-day
difference in grocery shopping frequency. Individuals in SNAP/FSP households had about the same grocery shopping participation rates as other lowincome respondents who were in households that did not receive SNAP/
FSP benefits. SNAP/FSP participants spent the longest time grocery shopping among all groups, 54 minutes for those who grocery shopped. Metro
residents were more likely to grocery shop on an average day than nonmetro
residents, although time spent shopping was about the same.
On an average day, Americans age 18 and over spent 33 minutes in food
preparation, including cleanup (table 7). Over half, 54 percent, of Americans
engaged in food prep on an average day. Those who engaged in food prep
spent just over an hour on this activity. Women spent more time in food prep
Table 7
Time spent in meal preparation and cleanup on an average day over 2006-08,
total population (age 18+) and meal prep participants
Average meal prep time,
total population (minutes)
Average percent engaged
in meal prep (percent)
Average meal prep time,
participants (minutes)
33.0
53.6
61.5
Men
18.3
39.2
46.8
Women
46.6
67.1
69.5
Age 18-24
15.2
30.6
49.5
Age 25-64
34.0
55.8
61.0
Age 65+
41.6
61.0
68.1
Employed
25.7
49.1
52.5
Not employed
47.9
63.0
76.1
Income >185% poverty threshold
29.5
52.2
56.4
Income < 185% poverty threshold
40.3
57.0
70.8
Income missing
40.2
53.4
75.3
SNAP/FSP participant household
47.9
64.1
74.7
Non-SNAP but income eligible
39.9
54.8
72.8
Non-SNAP, income>130% poverty threshold
30.4
52.8
57.6
Metro
32.6
53.3
61.1
Nonmetro
34.7
54.9
63.3
Total population
Gender
Age group
Employment
Income group
SNAP/FSP participation
Region
Meal preparation is: Food and drink preparation (020201); Food presentation (020202); Kitchen and food cleanup (020203); Food & drink prep, presentation, and clean-up, not elsewhere classified (020299). SNAP = Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; FSP = Food Stamp Program.
Participants are those who engaged in food prep and cleanup on their diary day.
Sources: 2006-08 American Time Use Survey and Eating and Health Module data.
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than men, 47 minutes versus 18 minutes, and were more likely to engage in
food prep on an average day, 67 percent versus 39 percent.
Those who were 65 and older spent the most time in food preparation (42
minutes), had the highest rate of food preparation (61 percent), and had the
longest time spent by those who prepared food (68 minutes). This is consistent
with the finding that those age 65 and over were more likely to grocery shop
on an average day than those in other age groups, spent the longest amount of
time in primary eating and drinking, and spent less time in secondary eating/
drinking than other age groups. Clearly those age 65 and over are preparing
and having meals, as opposed to just eating/drinking food.26
Those employed spent less time and were less likely to engage in food prep
on an average day than the total population average. Persons in households
with higher incomes spent less time, but were equally likely to prepare food
as those with lower incomes. Over two-thirds of individuals in SNAP/FSP
households engaged in food prep on an average day, and those SNAP/FSP
recipients who prepared food spent 75 minutes doing so. Nonmetro residents
spent slightly more time, on average, than metro residents in food prep, 35
minutes versus 33 minutes.
Who Does It?
The EH Module included questions: Are you the person who usually does
the grocery shopping in your household? Are you the person who usually
prepares the meals in your household? Responses were—Yes, No, and
Split Equally with other household member(s). Over 2006-08, 73 percent
of women and 32 percent of men age 18 or over reported that they were the
usual person to do the grocery shopping for their household (table 8). Eleven
percent of women and 18 percent of men reported that grocery shopping is
split equally in their household. Those age 25-64 and 65 and over had similar
responses to the grocery shopping question. However, those age 18-24, for
both men and women, were more likely to report that they were not the usual
grocery shopper in the household.
Only a small number of individuals in single-person households reported
that they were not the usual grocery shopper, 5 percent of men and 6 percent
of women. Individuals in two-adult, no-children households had the highest
percentage reporting that grocery shopping was split equally. As expected, in
one-adult households with a child or children, the adult was the usual grocery
shopper in almost all cases, 98 percent.
The distribution of responses for usual meal preparer was very similar to
that of usual grocery shopper—73 percent of women and 30 percent of men
reported that they were the usual meal preparer in the household. For those
65 and over, women were even more likely to be the usual meal preparer (82
percent) than the usual grocery shopper (73 percent).
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26The authors listened to many ATUS
interviews as part of the process of
fielding the EH Module. Rarely did a
respondent under 65 years old refer
to eating as a meal, or identify eating
as being breakfast, lunch, or dinner/
supper. Eating activities were reported
by the food eaten, such as “I ate a
sandwich.” Respondents who were over
65 were much more likely to identify
meals as an activity and identify which
meal, such as breakfast.
Table 8
Usual grocery shopper and usual meal preparer (age 18+) in household, 2006-08
Total
Men
Women
Total
Are you the person who usually
does the grocery shopping?
Men
Women
Are you the person who usually
prepares the meals?
Percent
Yes
53.3
32.3
72.9
52.3
29.7
73.4
No
32.0
49.3
15.7
34.1
54.3
15.3
Split equally
14.8
18.4
11.4
13.6
16.1
11.3
Yes
30.2
21.6
38.9
29.4
20.7
38.2
No
57.3
66.8
47.7
56.6
65.7
47.3
Split equally
12.5
11.7
13.4
14.0
13.6
14.4
Yes
56.2
33.3
78.4
54.4
31.1
77.0
No
28.5
47.1
10.4
31.0
51.4
11.2
Split equally
15.3
19.6
11.2
14.6
17.5
11.9
Yes
57.6
36.6
73.4
59.9
30.0
82.3
No
28.4
45.4
15.6
31.2
58.9
10.4
Split equally
14.0
17.9
11.1
8.9
11.1
7.3
Age
Age 18-24
Age 25-64
Age 65+
Household type
Single-person (adult) household
Yes
94.4
94.8
94.0
94.8
93.9
95.6
No
5.6
5.2
6.0
5.2
6.1
4.4
Split equally
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
Two adults, no children
Yes
46.0
24.0
67.9
45.8
20.8
70.9
No
32.1
50.3
13.9
36.7
59.9
13.5
Split equally
22.0
25.7
18.2
17.5
19.3
15.6
One adult, child/children
Yes
97.8
96.2
98.2
94.3
91.6
94.9
No
1.4
2.4
1.2
3.5
5.5
3.1
Split equally
0.8
1.4
0.7
2.2
2.9
2.0
Two adults, child/children
Yes
49.5
18.3
79.4
48.1
16.7
78.2
No
33.5
58.7
9.4
34.6
60.9
9.5
Split equally
17.0
23.0
11.2
17.2
22.4
12.3
Notes: Data refer to persons 18 years or older.
For household type, other household types not presented.
Child/children refers to person under age 18.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics American Time Use Survey and ERS Eating & Health Module.
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Meals Obtained at School
The EH Module asked respondents from households with children or youths
age 18 or younger if the children/youths in the household obtained meals
prepared at school, day care, or a summer program in the previous week.
This question was asked for breakfasts and lunches.
In FY2009, the National School Lunch Program provided meals to more than
31 million children each school day, at a cost of $9.8 billion. The School
Breakfast Program, which operated in over 101,000 public and nonprofit
private schools and residential childcare institutions in FY2009, cost $2.9
billion. Both programs require that school meals meet nutrition standards
established by the Food and Nutrition Service of USDA. Children from
families with incomes at or below 130 percent of the poverty threshold are
eligible for free meals, and those with family incomes between 130 percent
and 185 percent of the poverty threshold are eligible for reduced-price meals;
others may receive USDA program meals but pay a price set by their local
school district. Other USDA child nutrition programs include the Child Care
Food Program, which provides nutritious meals and snacks to children in
participating childcare/Head Start centers and family day care homes, and the
Summer Food Service Program ($357.9 million in FY2009), which provides
meals to children living in low-income areas during the summer months
when school is out. Besides these USDA-supported meal programs, schools,
day care centers, and summer programs may provide meals and snacks to
children for a fee or through other funding mechanisms.
The decision to obtain meals prepared at school, day care, or summer
programs (hereafter called school/day care meals) may be based on either
time or money factors. For low-income households, USDA-provided free or
reduced-price meals may offer monetary benefits. For them, and for other
households, they may also relieve time constraints. Information from the EH
Module can be used to understand the time benefits of school/day care meals
and to learn more about the types of households that value those benefits.
For the adults in these households, school/day care meals may provide a time
savings; for teenagers, obtaining school meals is an indicator of the teen’s
environment.
Over 2006-08, 54 percent of households with children reported that at least
one child obtained either breakfast, lunch, or both meals from school, day
care, or a summer program. In these households, adult respondents who were
the household’s usual meal preparers spent more time in paid work, 223
minutes (3.7 hours), and less time in child care, 80 minutes, than did respondents from other households with children (table 9 and appendix tables 8, 9a,
and 9b).27 This indicates that working parents “outsource” their children’s
meals, buying prepared meals for their children at school or day care. Doing
so can save households time otherwise spent preparing and packing meals
at home, and this may be especially valuable to households with principal
meal preparers employed in paid work. However, adults in households with
children who obtain meals at school actually spent slightly longer on an
average day in meal preparation and cleanup, 54 minutes versus 52.5 minutes
for those in households with children who did not obtain meals at school.
It could be that those whose children obtained meals at school would have
engaged in meal prep/clean up for an even longer duration without school/
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27For an overview of working parents’ time use patterns, see Allard and
Janes, 2008.
Table 9
Average time spent in various activities by usual meal preparers (age 19+) on an average day, 2006-08,
by employment status and school meal obtainment
Household members did not
obtain meals at school
Household members
obtained meals at school
Total
Employed
Not employed
Total
Employed
Not employed
Minutes
Food prep/cleanup
Housework
54.1
43.8
82.0
52.5
43.5
71.8
138.1
113.3
205.2
138.8
117.9
183.8
Childcare
80.3
68.3
112.5
92.3
72.2
135.6
Paid work
222.7
301.8
8.4
193.4
280.2
6.4
Sleep
504.6
494.1
533.1
508.9
495.3
538.3
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics American Time Use Survey and ERS Eating & Health Module.
day care meals. Further research is needed to analyze the factors influences
these two groups’ time use patterns.
Usual meal preparers in households with incomes above 185 percent of the
poverty threshold and with children who obtain meals at school/day care
spent more time in paid work than those in households in which children did
not receive school/day care meals (fig. 18). Since these higher income households do not have the monetary incentive of free- or reduced-price school/
day care meals, the value of the time-saving benefit is clear.
Teenagers age 15-18 who obtained school meals spent more time engaged in
education activities and less time in paid work than those who did not obtain
school meals (fig. 19 and appendix table 10).28 They also had less “screentime”—total time spent on a computer (excluding school-related computer
use) and watching television.29, 30 Most of the difference in screentime was
in time spent watching television—those who obtained school meals spent
116 minutes on an average day watching TV, and those who did not spent
142 minutes watching TV. Those who did not obtain meals at school spent
77 fewer minutes a day engaged in education activities and 29 minutes more
engaged in screentime on an average day (equivalent to 178 hours a year)
than those who did obtain meals at school on an average day.
Looking at those age 15 and 16 versus those age 17 and 18 (not shown in
chart), the older teens spent more time in paid work and less time in education activities than the younger teens, as expected since older high school
students have more freedom and may have reduced class loads. However,
this was true for both those who obtained meals at school and those who did
not. Screentime for the older teens was about the same as for the younger
teens.
The average BMI of teenagers age 15-18 who obtained meals at school was
23.7, which is about the same as that of teenagers who do not obtain meals at
school, 23.3.
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28For an overview of high school
students’ time use patterns, see Allard,
2008.
29We defined screentime as the
activities: household and personal email
and messages (020904); television and
movies, not religious (120303); television, religious (120304); playing games
(120307); computer use for leisure,
except games (120308); and computer
use for volunteer activities (150101).
Playing games includes both computer
games and card, board, or pencil puzzle
games, so this activity may overstate
computer screentime. We cannot
perfectly capture all computer use, as
mode of delivery was not asked for
some activities. For example, reading
for personal interest (120312) could be
on a variety of media.
30Kalenkoski and Pabilonia (2009)
found that an increase in paid work
reduced time teens spent on screentime.
Their finding appears in conflict with
our finding. However, they did not consider whether or not the teens obtained
meals at school.
Figure 18
Time spent in selected activities, individuals in households with children/youth on an average day 2006-08,
usual meal preparers only
Minutes
300
250
Obtain meals at school
No meals at school/daycare
200
150
100
50
0
Housework
Childcare
Paid work
Housework
Income less than 185%
of the poverty threshold
Childcare
Paid work
Income greater than 185%
of the poverty threshold
Source: 2006-08 Bureau of Labor Statistics American Time Use Survey and ERS Eating & Health Module data.
Figure 19
Time spent in selected activities, teenagers age 15-18 and in school, on an average day 2006-08
Minutes
300
Obtain meals at school
No meals at school/daycare
250
200
150
100
50
0
Paid work Education Screen time
Total
Paid work Education Screen time
Paid work Education Screen time
Metro
Nonmetro
Source: 2006-08 Bureau of Labor Statistics American Time Use Survey and ERS Eating & Health Module data.
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Implications for Future Research
This report presents an overview of the time Americans spent in eating and
drinking beverages on an average day over 2006-08 and the characteristics
and context of eating/drinking occurrences, including eating patterns by BMI
group and meal preparation/grocery shopping patterns.
Among our findings was that certain eating patterns and activities, as
reported in the Eating and Health Module over 2006-08, were associated with
BMI group. Those who were normal weight spend more time, on average,
in meal preparation and meal cleanup and also in sports and exercise than
those who were overweight or obese. Those who were overweight or obese
spent more time watching television than those who were normal weight,
and those who were overweight spent the longest time, on an average day, in
paid work. These findings indicate that the tradeoffs individuals face in determining how to spend their time have longrun implications—how individuals
fit meal preparation and exercise around a work schedule could determine
whether or not they become or remain overweight.
We also found that those who were employed were less likely to shop for
groceries on an average day, spent less time in grocery shopping, were less
likely to prepare meals, and spent less time in meal prep/cleanup than those
not employed. For those employed individuals in households with children,
the children were more likely to obtain meals at school. These findings indicate that individuals’ time constraints factor into their decisions on time spent
in food-related activities.
These findings are useful in thinking about how Americans fit eating into
their lives and provide better understanding of behaviors associated with
obesity. However, the statistics presented here are initial research findings
on these data, and more research can be done to investigate the relationships
between time use and well-being.
Future research using the American Time Use Survey and the Eating
& Health Module data could improve programs and policies targeted at
reducing obesity and improving overall nutrition. For example, Americans
age 65 and over spend more time in primary eating and less time in
secondary eating/drinking than other age groups. Is this due to their schedules, as many in this age group are retired, or is it a generational perception
of eating as meal-based and not an incidental activity? What explains the
regional differences in eating behavior and exercise participation—weather,
availability of public transportation, access to supermarkets, time spent
commuting, or other factors?
Low-income Americans have different eating patterns than those with higher
incomes. Specifically, those with lower incomes spent less time in primary
eating and drinking. Further investigation is needed to see why this is so and
if it is cause for concern.
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Those who are employed have different eating patterns than those who are
not, and workers on different shifts have different eating patterns. In addition, adults who are overweight have the longest average time in paid work
on an average day of the BMI groups. How does employment, occupation,
and work shift affect eating/exercise patterns and BMI? Understanding these
relationships would help to understand the time pressures that some individuals face in fitting meal preparation and exercise into their schedules.
Analysis of teenagers found that those who do not obtain meals at school
engaged in considerably more screentime (non-school computer time
and watching television) than those who do obtain meals at school.
Understanding the relationships and factors that create this association could
help inform programs concerned with childhood obesity.
ERS is currently engaged in furthering research on time use patterns.
Specific projects include analysis of low-income individuals’ eating patterns;
measuring travel to grocery shopping in minutes; analysis of teenagers’ time
use patterns; research on work shifts and eating and exercise behavior; and
BMI analysis of those who walk or cycle to work.
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to Affordable and Nutritious Food—Measuring and Understanding Food
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http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.html
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Appendix table 1a
Time spent in eating and drinking activities on an average day over 2006-08,
with cell sizes and confidence intervals
Average minutes per day,
civilian population
Minutes
Total population
With cell sizes and
confidence intervals (CI)
Cell
size
Total
Men
90%
90%
CI min CI max
Cell
size
Men
Women
90%
90%
CI min CI max
Cell
size
90%
90%
Women CI min CI max
Age 15 and older
Total time in primary eating
and drinking
37,832
66.9
66.39
67.37
16,427
68.6
67.90
69.38
21,405
65.2
64.50
65.95
Total time in associated activities
37,832
7.4
6.94
7.54
16,427
7.9
7.43
8.43
21,405
6.9
6.53
7.27
Secondary eating
37,832
23.5
22.34
24.61
16,427
22.8
20.86
24.70
21,405
24.1
22.77
25.49
Secondary drinking
37,832
63.1
61.10
65.12
16,427
59.1
56.19
61.95
21,405
66.9
63.99
69.83
Secondary eating and drinking
(minimum)
37,832
76.8
74.69
78.93
16,427
72.6
69.45
75.82
21,405
80.7
77.91
83.56
Secondary eating and drinking
(maximum)
37,832
78.6
76.45
80.68
16,427
74.4
71.15
77.57
21,405
82.5
79.71
85.33
Total secondary eating and drinking
(adjusted for overlap)—one-half
minimum+maximum
37,832
77.7
75.57
79.80
16,427
73.5
70.30
76.69
21,405
81.6
78.81
84.45
Range of total secondary
eating plus drinking
Total time in all eating and drinking
activities
152.0
150.1
153.8
Age 18 and older
Total time in primary eating
and drinking
35,837
67.8
67.25
68.28
15,416
69.6
68.83
70.43
20,421
66.0
65.27
66.76
Total time in associated activities
35,837
7.4
7.11
7.73
15,416
8.0
7.46
8.52
20,421
6.9
6.52
7.26
Secondary eating
35,837
23.9
22.71
25.09
15,416
23.1
21.14
25.13
20,421
24.6
23.17
26.07
Secondary drinking
35,837
65.1
62.99
67.20
15,416
61.0
58.02
63.94
20,421
68.9
65.87
72.01
Secondary eating and drinking
(minimum)
35,837
78.8
76.61
81.03
15,416
74.5
71.24
77.73
20,421
82.9
79.89
85.84
Secondary eating and drinking
(maximum)
35,837
80.6
78.39
82.80
15,416
76.2
72.96
79.50
20,421
84.7
81.70
87.63
Total secondary eating and drinking
(adjusted for overlap)—one-half
minimum+maximum
35,837
79.7
77.50
81.91
15,416
75.4
72.10
78.62
20,421
83.8
80.79
86.73
Range of total secondary
eating plus drinking
Total time in all eating and drinking
activities
154.9
153.0
156.7
Note: A primary activity refers to an individual’s main activity.
Primary eating & drinking includes Eating and drinking (110101 and 110199), Eating and drinking not elsewhere classified (119999), and Eating and drinking as part
of job (050202). Travel times not included except in associated activities. Associated activities are Waiting associated with eating & drinking (110281 and 110289) and
Travel related to eating & drinking (191101 and 181199).Total secondary eating and secondary drinking time (adjusted for overlap) is one-half the sum of the total
time assuming all overlap—secondary eating and secondary drinking occur at the same time—plus the total time assuming no overlap. Secondary Eating & Drinking
minimum assumes all overlap of secondary eating & drinking if both occur during a primary activity. Secondary Eating & Drinking maximum assumes no overlap of
secondary eating & drinking if both occur during a primary activity.
Source: 2006-08 Bureau of Labor Statistics American Time Use Survey and ERS Eating & Health Module data.
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Appendix table 1b
Population engaged in eating and drinking activities and time spent on an average day over 2006-08,
with cell sizes and confidence intervals (CI)
Average minutes per day, for
persons who engaged in the activity
(minutes)
Average share
engaged in activity
per day
(percent)
Total population
Cell
Total Men Women size
Men
90%
90%
Cell
Total CI min CI max size
Men
Women
90%
90%
Cell
90%
90%
CI min CI max size Women CI min CI max
Age 15 and older
Total time in primary eating
and drinking
95.9
96.2
95.6
36,275 69.7
69.28
70.21 15,763 71.4
70.62
72.14 20,512
68.2
67.51
68.89
Total time in associated
activities
25.6
27.3
24.1
9,940 28.9
27.88
29.88
4,666 29.1
27.49
30.66
5,274
28.7
27.48
29.86
Secondary eating
52.5
48.4
56.3
20,008 44.7
42.63
46.86
8,131 47.0
43.25
50.84 11,877
42.9
40.46
45.32
Secondary drinking
35.4
33.0
37.5
13,591 178.5 173.46 183.55
5,569 178.8 171.19 186.36
Secondary eating and
drinking (minimum)
53.9
49.9
57.7
20,547 142.5 138.85 146.11
8,352 145.6 139.55 151.56 12,195 140.0 135.30 144.66
Secondary eating and
drinking (maximum)
53.9
49.9
57.7
20,547 145.7 142.12 149.34
8,352 149.0 142.97 155.03 12,195 143.1 138.42 147.73
Total secondary eating and
drinking (adjusted for overlap)—one-half min+max
53.9
49.9
57.7
20,547 144.1 140.49 147.73
8,352 147.3 141.26 153.29 12,195 141.5 136.86 146.20
8,022 178.3 171.39 185.18
Range of total secondary
eating plus drinking
Total time in all eating and
drinking activities
242.7
247.7
238.4
Age 18 and older
Total time in primary eating
and drinking
96.0
96.2
95.8
34,380 70.6
70.13
71.10 14,793 72.4
71.61
73.24 19,587
68.9
68.21
69.63
Total time in associated
activities
25.7
27.5
24.0
9,403 28.9
27.89
29.88
4,400 29.1
27.46
30.75
5,003
28.7
27.51
29.80
Secondary eating
52.1
48.2
55.7
18,808 45.9
43.65
48.09
7,576 48.0
44.03
51.88 11,232
44.2
41.56
46.80
Secondary drinking
35.5
33.1
37.7
12,886 183.5 178.24 188.81
5,225 184.1 176.37 191.75
Secondary eating and
drinking (minimum)
53.6
49.7
57.2
19,326 147.1 143.30 150.92
7,784 149.9 143.84 155.90 11,542 144.9 139.92 149.82
Secondary eating and
drinking (maximum)
53.6
49.7
57.2
19,326 150.4 146.64 154.21
7,784 153.4 147.33 159.44 11,542 148.0 143.11 152.94
Total secondary eating and
drinking (adjusted for overlap)—one-half min+max
53.6
49.7
57.2
19,326 148.8 144.97 152.56
7,784 151.6 145.59 157.67 11,542 146.5 141.52 151.38
7,661 183.1 175.90 190.28
Range of total secondary
eating plus drinking
Total time in all eating and
drinking activities
248.3
253.2
244.0
Note: A primary activity refers to an individual’s main activity.
Primary eating & drinking includes Eating and drinking (110101 and 110199), Eating and drinking not elsewhere classified (119999) and Eating and drinking as part of job
(050202). Travel times not included except in associated activities. Associated activities are Waiting associated with eating & drinking (110281 and 110289) and Travel related
to eating & drinking (181101 and 181199). Total secondary eating and secondary drinking time (adjusted for overlap) is one-half the sum of the total time assuming all overlap—secondary eating and secondary drinking occur at the same time—plus the total time assuming no overlap. Secondary Eating & Drinking minimum assumes all overlap
of secondary eating & drinking if both occur during a primary activity. Secondary Eating & Drinking maximum assumes no overlap of secondary eating & drinking if both occur
during a primary activity.
Source: 2006-08 Bureau of Labor Statistics American Time Use Survey and ERS Eating & Health Module data.
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Appendix table 2
Time spent in eating and drinking activities and percent of civilian population engaged in each
activity, on an average day over 2006-08 (minutes)
Average minutes per day
for persons engaged
in each activity
Average minutes per day,
population
Average percent
engaged in activity
Total time in primary eating and drinking
66.9
95.9
Secondary eating
23.5
52.5
44.7
Secondary drinking
63.1
35.4
178.5
Total time in primary eating and drinking
53.4
94.9
56.2
Secondary eating
16.9
57.9
29.2
Secondary drinking
32.6
33.6
97.0
Total time in primary eating and drinking
60.1
94.3
63.7
Secondary eating
27.4
56.0
48.9
Secondary drinking
56.6
34.4
164.4
Total time in primary eating and drinking
65.9
95.7
68.9
Secondary eating
24.6
53.7
45.8
Secondary drinking
72.5
37.7
192.3
By age groups
All
69.7
Age groups
Age 15-17
Age 18-24
Age 25-64
Age 65+
Total time in primary eating and drinking
81.5
98.4
82.8
Secondary eating
18.2
42.2
43.0
Secondary drinking
39.1
26.4
147.9
Note: A primary activity refers to an individual’s main activity.
Primary eating & drinking includes Eating and drinking (110101 and 110199), eating and drinking not elsewhere classified (119999)
and eating and drinking as part of job (050202).
Travel times not included.
Source: 2006-08 Bureau of Labor Statistics American Time Use Survey and ERS Eating & Health Module data.
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Appendix table 3
Time spent in eating and drinking activities and percent of civilian population engaged in each activity,
on an average day over 2006-08 (minutes)
By various subgroups
Average
minutes per
day, population
Age 15 and over
Age 18 and over
Average
percent
engaged in
activity
Average
percent
engaged in
activity
Ave. minutes
per day for perAverage
sons engaged minutes per
in each activity day, population
Ave. minutes
per day for persons engaged
in each activity
Region
Metro
Total time in primary eating and drinking
67.1
95.9
70.0
68.0
96.0
Secondary eating
23.8
Secondary drinking
60.9
Total time in primary eating and drinking
70.8
53.3
44.7
24.3
53.0
45.8
35.6
171.1
63.0
35.7
176.3
65.9
95.8
68.8
66.8
95.9
69.7
Secondary eating
21.9
48.7
45.0
22.2
48.3
46.0
Secondary drinking
73.1
34.2
213.4
74.6
34.3
217.4
Total time in primary eating and drinking
70.6
96.3
73.4
71.9
96.4
74.5
Secondary eating
21.0
52.8
39.8
21.2
52.2
40.6
Secondary drinking
53.3
35.2
151.1
53.6
35.1
152.7
Total time in primary eating and drinking
65.9
95.8
68.8
66.8
95.9
69.6
Secondary eating
26.4
55.6
47.4
26.9
55.3
48.6
Secondary drinking
80.4
38.3
209.8
83.2
38.4
216.5
Total time in primary eating and drinking
64.7
95.4
67.8
65.5
95.5
68.6
Secondary eating
21.2
50.1
42.3
21.6
49.8
43.4
Secondary drinking
61.5
33.8
181.8
63.5
34.1
186.4
Total time in primary eating and drinking
68.5
96.5
71.0
69.3
96.4
71.8
Secondary eating
26.1
52.6
49.6
26.6
52.3
51.0
Secondary drinking
54.6
34.6
157.6
56.8
34.8
163.4
75.1
93.1
80.6
75.4
93.1
81.0
Secondary eating
133.0
93.0
143.0
133.9
92.8
144.3
Secondary drinking
483.4
90.0
537.0
484.3
90.0
538.1
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
50.7
81.7
62.1
52.1
81.9
63.6
137.6
62.3
220.8
142.9
62.8
227.5
Nonmetro
Northeast
Midwest
South
West
Constant grazers (4.5+ hours eating/drinking)
Total time in primary eating and drinking
No primary eating/drinking
Total time in primary eating and drinking
Secondary eating
Secondary drinking
Reported “All Day” secondary eating and/or “All Day” secondary drinking (Oct. 2006-Dec. 2008)
Total time in primary eating and drinking
57.1
92.9
61.4
57.3
93.0
61.6
Secondary eating
222.2
95.8
232.0
224.8
95.7
234.9
Secondary drinking
791.0
94.6
836.2
792.9
94.6
838.3
—continued
42
How Much Time Do Americans Spend on Food? / EIB-86
Economic Research Service/USDA
Appendix table 3
Time spent in eating and drinking activities and percent of civilian population engaged in each activity,
on an average day over 2006-08 (minutes) —continued
Age 15 and over
Age 18 and over
Average
minutes per
day, population
Average
percent
engaged in
activity
Average
percent
engaged in
activity
Total time in primary eating and drinking
65.6
95.5
68.7
66.0
95.6
69.1
Secondary eating
24.4
54.9
44.4
24.5
54.7
44.8
Secondary drinking
70.9
38.0
186.3
71.9
38.2
188.3
Total time in primary eating and drinking
69.3
96.6
71.7
71.4
96.7
73.8
Secondary eating
21.8
47.8
45.6
22.6
46.7
48.4
Secondary drinking
48.5
30.3
160.1
51.1
29.9
170.8
Total time in primary eating and drinking
69.6
96.3
72.3
70.4
96.3
73.1
Secondary eating
24.6
56.9
43.3
25.0
56.5
44.2
Secondary drinking
68.8
39.1
175.8
71.0
39.3
180.5
Total time in primary eating and drinking
61.2
95.2
64.3
61.5
95.2
64.6
Secondary eating
21.0
44.0
47.6
21.1
43.7
48.2
Secondary drinking
53.5
28.3
188.9
54.0
28.2
191.7
Total time in primary eating and drinking
61.1
94.4
64.7
66.3
95.4
69.4
Secondary eating
21.8
39.3
55.5
25.3
35.8
70.7
Secondary drinking
39.6
23.1
171.4
42.8
21.1
202.8
Total time in primary eating and drinking
53.5
92.6
57.8
54.4
92.8
58.6
Secondary eating
26.1
47.4
55.0
27.2
46.9
58.0
Secondary drinking
68.6
32.8
209.0
68.9
32.7
210.3
Total time in primary eating and drinking
60.6
95.7
63.4
60.9
95.7
63.7
Secondary eating
19.2
41.5
46.3
18.9
41.0
46.1
Secondary drinking
42.1
25.4
165.9
42.1
25.1
167.4
72.1
70.1
96.4
72.8
By various subgroups
Ave. minutes
per day for perAverage
sons engaged minutes per
in each activity day, population
Ave. minutes
per day for persons engaged
in each activity
Employment status
Employed
Not employed
Income groups
Income >185% poverty threshold
Income < 185% poverty threshold
Income missing
SNAP/FSP participation
SNAP/FSP participant household
Non-SNAP/FSP but income eligible
Non-SNAP/FSP, income>130% poverty threshold
Total time in primary eating and drinking
69.4
96.4
Secondary eating
24.2
55.7
43.4
24.5
55.4
44.2
Secondary drinking
67.8
38.1
177.8
69.8
38.3
182.4
Note: A primary activity refers to an individual’s main activity. SNAP = Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; FSP = Food Stamp Program.
Primary eating & drinking includes Eating and drinking (110101 and 110199), Eating and drinking not elsewhere classified (119999) and Eating and drinking as part of job
(050202). Data refer to persons 15 years or older or 18 years or older. Metro areas are defined as GTMETSTA=1 and nonmetro areas are defined as GTMETSTA=2 and
GTMETSTA=3. Constant grazers are defined as persons who have a total of 4.5 hours of eating/drinking among primary and secondary eating and drinking.
Source: 2006-08 Bureau of Labor Statistics American Time Use Survey and ERS Eating & Health Module data.
43
How Much Time Do Americans Spend on Food? / EIB-86
Economic Research Service/USDA
Appendix table 4
Time spent in eating and drinking activities on an average day over
2006-08, by work shift and gender
Average minutes per day,
civilian population
Age 18 and older
Total
Men
Women
Primary eating and drinking
63.6
66.5
60.0
Secondary eating
24.0
20.8
28.1
Secondary drinking
73.1
62.7
86.2
Primary eating and drinking
50.4
52.3
48.3
Secondary eating
25.4
35.1
15.0
Secondary drinking
72.3
62.6
82.6
Primary eating and drinking
49.6
51.9
46.3
Secondary eating
24.4
15.7
37.0
Secondary drinking
74.6
64.8
88.7
Day shift
Evening shift
Night shift
Note: A primary activity refers to an individual’s main activity.
Data refer to persons 18 years or older who engaged in paid work, unpaid work for a family business, or job search at least 60 minutes on their diary day.
Primary eating & drinking includes Eating and drinking (110101 and 110199), Eating and drinking not elsewhere classified (119999) and Eating and drinking as part of job (050202).
Day shift workers are those who performed at least half of their paid work time between 8 am
and 4 pm; evening shift workers are those who performed at least half of their paid work time
between 4 pm and 12 am (midnight); and night shift workers are those who performed at least
half of their paid work time between 4 am and 8 am and/or 12 am (midnight) and 4 am.
Source: 2006-08 Bureau of Labor Statistics American Time Use Survey and ERS Eating &
Health Module data.
44
How Much Time Do Americans Spend on Food? / EIB-86
Economic Research Service/USDA
Appendix table 5
Time spent in various activities, on an average day over 2006-08 (minutes) by BMI group and employment
status, age 20 and over, total population and by employment status
Total population
Underweight
Normal weight
Overweight
Obese
509.1
535.3
510.5
505.4
510.9
39.4
43.4
41.5
38.3
38.1
5.9
2.7
5.2
6.2
6.5
Meal preparation/cleanup
33.0
38.0
36.1
30.7
32.0
Other household activities
78.9
76.7
83.3
79.0
73.4
Caring for household members
28.1
32.1
32.6
24.7
26.9
9.2
9.7
8.4
9.8
9.3
Paid work
222.6
176.8
214.3
233.0
221.7
Education
11.0
32.8
15.1
8.5
8.0
Grocery shopping
6.2
7.9
6.7
5.5
6.4
Other purchases
24.1
28.8
24.5
24.1
23.4
0.5
0.6
0.4
0.4
0.7
68.5
65.8
71.0
68.8
65.1
0.2
0.4
0.2
0.1
0.1
163.1
144.4
146.5
164.1
183.7
Total population
Sleep
Grooming
Other personal care
Caring for non-household members
Government and civic activities
Primary eating and drinking
Activities associated with eating
Watching TV
Using PC
21.0
15.7
20.2
19.7
24.1
Other socializing and leisure
94.1
105.5
94.0
94.6
92.9
Sports and exercise
16.1
11.6
18.3
17.2
12.2
Watching sports
1.8
0.3
1.6
2.3
1.5
Other sports activities
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.1
16.5
14.1
16.7
16.5
16.3
Religious and volunteer activities
6.3
7.2
7.0
5.7
6.2
Travel from place to place
Phone calls and emails
73.6
75.6
73.3
75.4
71.6
Other activities not elsewhere classified
10.7
14.5
12.7
9.9
8.9
1,440.0
1,440.0
1,440.0
1,440.0
1,440.0
Secondary eating
Total
23.9
20.7
27.9
22.9
20.6
Secondary drinking
66.3
76.2
66.8
62.2
70.4
493.4
520.3
498.0
490.1
490.9
41.1
47.6
43.4
39.9
39.8
3.6
2.1
2.9
4.5
3.3
Meal preparation/cleanup
25.9
31.0
28.7
24.2
24.6
Other household activities
65.1
52.6
67.6
65.1
62.5
Caring for household members
26.2
27.6
29.1
24.1
25.6
7.2
7.6
6.6
7.7
7.2
Paid work
325.2
307.7
314.9
331.3
330.5
Education
9.9
32.6
13.7
8.1
6.5
Employed
Sleep
Grooming
Other personal care
Caring for non-household members
Grocery shopping
5.4
7.4
6.0
4.8
5.4
Other purchases
21.9
33.7
22.6
21.7
20.8
0.3
0.4
0.3
0.4
0.3
66.8
63.2
69.2
66.6
64.1
0.1
0.7
0.2
0.1
0.1
129.6
92.4
114.3
134.0
Government and civic activities
Primary eating and drinking
Activities associated with eating
Watching TV
45
How Much Time Do Americans Spend on Food? / EIB-86
Economic Research Service/USDA
144.5
—continued
Appendix table 5
Time spent in various activities, on an average day over 2006-08 (minutes) by BMI group and employment
status, age 20 and over, total population and by employment status —continued
Total population
Underweight
Normal weight
Overweight
Obese
Using PC
17.3
12.1
17.3
15.8
19.6
Other socializing and leisure
74.6
70.8
76.7
73.2
73.9
Sports and exercise
15.9
13.5
17.5
16.7
12.9
2.1
0.4
1.7
2.7
1.8
Watching sports
Other sports activities
Religious and volunteer activities
Phone calls and emails
Travel from place to place
Other activities not elsewhere classified
0.1
0.0
0.0
0.1
0.1
14.0
10.9
13.9
13.5
15.0
4.7
7.1
5.6
4.4
4.0
81.2
89.9
80.3
83.2
79.3
8.2
8.6
9.4
7.8
7.4
1,440.0
1,440.0
1,440.0
1,440.0
1,440.0
Secondary eating
24.4
19.9
28.2
23.7
20.9
Secondary drinking
72.8
81.1
74.8
67.5
77.1
542.2
35.8
10.7
47.8
107.9
32.1
13.4
7.0
13.4
7.9
28.8
0.8
72.1
0.2
233.6
28.9
135.1
16.5
1.2
0.0
21.7
9.5
57.6
15.7
1,440.0
22.9
52.6
554.6
38.1
3.5
46.9
107.7
37.9
12.4
8.5
33.1
8.5
22.4
1.0
69.2
0.0
211.2
20.2
150.3
9.1
0.3
0.0
18.4
7.4
57.4
22.1
1,440.0
21.9
69.9
536.3
37.5
10.0
51.2
115.5
39.8
12.2
7.3
17.9
8.2
28.6
0.5
74.8
0.3
212.6
26.1
129.5
19.9
1.4
0.0
22.5
9.7
58.8
19.3
1,440.0
27.3
50.3
540.7
34.7
10.0
45.4
111.0
26.1
14.6
6.1
9.6
7.0
29.6
0.6
73.8
0.1
233.5
29.0
143.9
18.3
1.4
0.0
23.4
8.6
57.5
15.0
1,440.0
20.9
50.1
550.5
34.9
12.9
46.4
94.7
29.5
13.5
7.6
11.0
8.4
28.5
1.4
67.2
0.2
260.9
32.8
130.2
10.7
0.8
0.0
18.9
10.6
56.5
11.9
1,440.0
20.0
57.2
Total
Not employed
Sleep
Grooming
Other personal care
Meal preparation/cleanup
Other household activities
Caring for household members
Caring for non-household members
Paid work
Education
Grocery shopping
Other purchases
Government and civic activities
Primary eating and drinking
Activities associated with eating
Watching TV
Using PC
Other socializing and leisure
Sports and exercise
Watching sports
Other sports activities
Religious and volunteer activities
Phone calls and emails
Travel from place to place
Other activities not elsewhere classified
Total
Secondary eating
Secondary drinking
Note: A primary activity refers to an individual’s main activity. Height and weight are self-reported. Those employed may or may not have engaged
in paid work on their diary day. Sleep is 0101xx; Grooming is 0102xx; Other personal care is 0103xx and 0104xx and 019999; Meal preparation and
cleanup is 0202xx; Other household activities are all 02xxxx activities except 0202xx and 020904; Caring for household members is 03xxxx; caring for
nonhousehold members is 04xxxx; Paid work is all 05xxxx activities except 050202; education is 06xxxx; Grocery shopping is 070101; other purchases
are all 07xxxx activities except 070101, 08xxxx, and 09xxxx; Government and civic activities are 10xxxx; Primary eating & drinking includes Eating and
drinking (110101 and 110199), Eating and drinking not elsewhere classified (119999), and Eating and drinking as part of job (050202). Activities associated with eating are 110281 and 110289; Watching TV is 120303 and 120304; PC time is 020904, 120307, and 120308, and 1501010; Other socializing
and leisure is all 12xxxx activities except 120303 and 120304; Sports and exercise is 1301xxx; Watching sports is 1302xx; Other sports activities is
1303xx; Religious and Volunteer activities is 14xxxx and 15xxxx; Telephone calls and emails is 1601xx and 169999; Travel from place to place is 18xxxx;
and Other activities n.e.c. (not elsewhere classified) is 50xxxx. Data refer to persons 20 years or older. Pregnant women not included in estimates.
Underweight is BMI<18.5, 18.5 ≤ BMI < 25.0 is Normal weight, 25.0 ≤ BMI < 30.0 is Overweight, 30.0 ≤ BMI is Obese.
Source: 2006-08 Bureau of Labor Statistics American Time Use Survey and ERS Eating & Health Module data.
46
How Much Time Do Americans Spend on Food? / EIB-86
Economic Research Service/USDA
Appendix table 6
Time spent in various activities, on an average day over 2006-08 (minutes) by self-reported general health
status and gender, age 20 and over
Total population
Excellent
Very good
Good
Fair
Poor
509.1
493.7
500.1
512.0
536.5
577.8
39.4
41.0
40.8
39.0
37.1
33.2
5.9
4.3
3.5
4.7
9.6
31.0
Meal preparation/cleanup
33.0
31.0
32.1
34.4
40.4
34.3
Other household activities
78.9
78.0
79.0
80.2
84.6
60.7
Caring for household members
28.1
32.8
31.8
28.6
21.5
15.9
Total population
Sleep
Grooming
Other personal care
Caring for non-household members
9.2
8.4
9.0
9.2
9.9
10.6
Paid work
222.6
261.1
248.0
220.0
150.8
49.8
Education
11.0
16.3
10.7
11.1
6.9
1.6
Grocery shopping
6.2
5.9
6.3
6.5
6.0
4.9
Other purchases
24.1
25.3
24.5
23.6
22.5
27.6
Government and civic activities
Primary eating and drinking
Activities associated with eating
Watching TV
0.5
0.3
0.3
0.6
0.5
1.1
68.5
70.8
70.6
67.0
64.1
61.0
0.2
0.2
0.2
0.1
0.1
0.1
163.1
121.5
141.3
170.4
215.7
291.6
Using PC
21.0
18.9
21.0
21.8
21.1
20.3
Other socializing and leisure
94.1
89.2
87.6
92.3
108.7
131.9
Sports and exercise
16.1
23.6
17.4
12.7
10.0
6.4
Watching sports
1.8
1.6
2.3
1.6
1.0
0.8
Other sports activities
0.0
0.0
0.1
0.0
0.1
0.0
16.5
16.3
17.8
15.2
15.8
15.5
6.3
5.9
6.2
6.5
6.5
7.6
73.6
82.1
79.2
72.1
58.4
45.3
Religious and volunteer activities
Phone calls and emails
Travel from place to place
Other activities not elsewhere classified
10.7
11.8
10.2
10.0
11.9
10.8
1,440.0
1,440.0
1,440.0
1,440.0
1,440.0
1,440.0
Secondary eating
23.9
25.4
24.6
23.9
21.5
19.8
Secondary drinking
66.3
61.9
70.2
66.8
63.5
56.2
505.8
488.5
494.7
509.3
537.4
573.8
32.6
33.5
33.5
31.9
32.0
26.8
Total
Men
Sleep
Grooming
Other personal care
5.0
5.6
2.7
2.6
10.7
22.7
Meal preparation/cleanup
18.8
17.6
18.3
18.3
22.2
20.2
Other household activities
66.4
64.5
67.4
66.0
70.9
50.2
Caring for household members
18.4
19.1
21.0
18.0
12.3
12.5
7.4
5.9
7.5
8.2
7.2
6.8
Paid work
266.0
310.9
297.2
264.8
186.0
58.8
Education
8.3
13.4
7.1
7.6
7.1
1.9
Grocery shopping
4.3
3.9
3.8
4.9
4.8
4.6
Other purchases
18.7
18.5
18.4
18.6
17.8
25.7
0.5
0.3
0.2
0.7
0.8
0.3
70.4
72.6
73.3
68.6
65.2
64.7
0.1
0.2
0.1
0.1
0.2
0.1
178.0
134.7
154.9
186.5
230.0
347.8
Caring for non-household members
Government and civic activities
Primary eating and drinking
Activities associated with eating
Watching TV
—continued
47
How Much Time Do Americans Spend on Food? / EIB-86
Economic Research Service/USDA
Appendix table 6
Time spent in various activities, on an average day over 2006-08 (minutes) by self-reported general health
status and gender, age 20 and over—continued
Total population
Excellent
Very good
Good
Fair
Poor
Using PC
Other socializing and leisure
Sports and exercise
Watching sports
Other sports activities
Religious and volunteer activities
Phone calls and emails
Travel from place to place
Other activities not elsewhere classified
Total
Secondary eating
Secondary drinking
23.4
89.0
21.0
2.1
0.1
14.3
3.1
76.6
9.7
1,440.0
23.3
62.7
21.6
85.3
28.4
1.6
0.1
14.4
3.1
84.2
12.0
1,440.0
26.0
59.8
23.8
81.0
23.1
2.4
0.1
16.1
3.4
81.7
8.3
1,440.0
24.0
62.7
25.0
88.8
17.8
2.1
0.1
12.4
2.8
75.5
9.5
1,440.0
20.9
65.8
23.3
106.1
14.5
1.6
0.1
13.1
3.0
63.2
10.7
1,440.0
22.2
56.6
19.3
120.1
8.3
1.7
0.0
14.1
3.6
47.3
8.7
1,440.0
23.3
61.8
Women
Sleep
Grooming
Other personal care
Meal preparation/cleanup
Other household activities
Caring for household members
Caring for non-household members
Paid work
Education
Grocery shopping
Other purchases
Government and civic activities
Primary eating and drinking
Activities associated with eating
Watching TV
Using PC
Other socializing and leisure
Sports and exercise
Watching sports
Other sports activities
Religious and volunteer activities
Phone calls and emails
Travel from place to place
Other activities not elsewhere classified
Total
Secondary eating
Secondary drinking
512.4
46.2
6.7
47.2
91.5
37.9
10.9
179.3
13.7
8.1
29.5
0.5
66.6
0.2
148.3
18.6
99.2
11.2
1.6
0.0
18.7
9.5
70.7
11.6
1,440.0
24.6
69.8
498.8
48.2
3.1
44.1
91.3
46.0
10.9
212.5
19.0
7.8
31.9
0.2
69.1
0.2
108.6
16.3
93.0
18.8
1.6
0.0
18.0
8.6
80.2
11.7
1,440.0
24.9
64.0
505.2
47.8
4.2
45.2
90.0
41.9
10.5
201.5
14.1
8.7
30.4
0.4
68.0
0.2
128.5
18.4
93.8
12.1
2.2
0.0
19.4
8.8
76.9
11.9
1,440.0
25.2
77.2
514.6
45.7
6.6
49.3
93.4
38.3
10.1
178.4
14.5
8.1
28.2
0.5
65.6
0.2
155.5
18.9
95.6
8.0
1.1
0.0
17.9
9.9
69.0
10.4
1,440.0
26.6
67.7
535.7
41.7
8.6
56.6
96.7
29.7
12.3
119.6
6.7
7.1
26.7
0.3
63.1
0.1
203.2
19.1
111.1
6.1
0.5
0.0
18.1
9.6
54.3
13.1
1,440.0
20.9
69.6
581.3
38.7
38.2
46.6
69.9
18.8
13.9
42.1
1.5
5.2
29.3
1.8
57.8
0.0
242.9
21.3
142.1
4.7
0.0
0.0
16.8
11.1
43.6
12.5
1,440.0
16.8
51.3
Note: A primary activity refers to an individual’s main activity. General health self-reported. Sleep is 0101xx; Grooming is 0102xx; Other personal care
is 0103xx and 0104xx and 019999; Meal preparation and cleanup is 0202xx; Other household activities are all 02xxxx activities except 0202xx and
020904; Caring for household members is 03xxxx; caring for nonhousehold members is 04xxxx; Paid work is all 05xxxx activities except 050202; education is 06xxxx; Grocery shopping is 070101; other purchases are all 07xxxx activities except 070101, 08xxxx, and 09xxxx; Government and civic activities are 10xxxx; Primary eating & drinking includes Eating and drinking (110101 and 110199), Eating and drinking not elsewhere classified (119999),
and Eating and drinking as part of job (050202). Activities associated with eating are 110281 and 110289; Watching TV is 120303 and 120304; PC time
is 020904, 120307, and 120308, and 1501010; Other socializing and leisure is all 12xxxx activities except 120303 and 120304; Sports and exercise
is 1301xxx; Watching sports is 1302xx; Other sports activities is 1303xx; Religious and Volunteer activities is 14xxxx and 15xxxx; Telephone calls and
emails is 1601xx and 169999; Travel from place to place is 18xxxx; and Other activities n.e.c. (not elsewhere classified) is 50xxxx. Data refer to persons
20 years or older.
Source: 2006-08 Bureau of Labor Statistics American Time Use Survey and ERS Eating & Health Module data.
48
How Much Time Do Americans Spend on Food? / EIB-86
Economic Research Service/USDA
Appendix table 7
Average time spent in various activities on an average day over 2006-08 for adults age 19 and over
in households with children or youth, by school/daycare meal obtainment
Grocery
Grocery shopping—
Food
shopping over those who engaged in prep/ Housepopulation
grocery shopping
cleanup work
Childcare
Paid
work
Sleep
Average minutes per day spent in selected activities
Obtain school/daycare meals
Persons in households with
members under age 19
6.2
43.8
39.6
113.0
66.0
260.6
503.5
Households with children 5
years and under
6.3
44.5
41.5
111.3
97.7
257.5
505.2
Households with children 6-11
6.5
44.3
43.8
121.7
76.2
251.0
503.7
Households with children 12-18
6.3
43.1
39.7
116.8
47.4
256.5
504.4
Income <130% poverty threshold
7.4
45.5
54.0
138.7
77.5
176.9
532.0
130% < income < 185% poverty threshold
6.1
51.0
41.5
118.3
61.7
266.9
509.5
185% poverty threshold < income
5.9
41.1
33.7
101.5
63.3
295.2
488.8
Obtain SNAP/Food Stamps
6.8
48.7
54.7
133.3
89.6
152.1
537.2
Do not obtain SNAP/Food Stamps
6.1
42.9
37.5
110.0
62.9
276.2
498.9
One adult in household
6.3
43.8
43.9
115.8
76.9
243.2
514.6
More than one adult in household
6.2
43.8
39.1
112.7
64.8
262.6
502.3
One child
5.3
43.0
33.2
100.6
42.2
271.0
507.3
2-3 children
6.7
43.9
41.1
116.9
75.2
261.0
502.0
4 or more children
6.7
45.8
54.6
135.9
97.9
216.9
499.2
Persons in households with
members under age 19
Persons in households with
members under age 19
Persons in households with
members under age 19
Persons in households with
members under age 19
—continued
49
How Much Time Do Americans Spend on Food? / EIB-86
Economic Research Service/USDA
Appendix table 7
Average time spent in various activities on an average day over 2006-08 for adults age 19 and over
in households with children or youth, by school/daycare meal obtainment—continued
Grocery
Grocery shopping—
Food
shopping over those who engaged in prep/ Housepopulation
grocery shopping
cleanup work
Do not obtain school/daycare meals
Childcare
Paid
work
Sleep
Average minutes per day spent in selected activities
Persons in households with
Members under age 19
6.6
47.2
38.7
112.5
75.0
238.2
506.0
Households with children 5 years
and under
6.6
48.7
42.1
110.9
117.8
222.6
513.9
Households with children 6-11
5.9
43.6
43.4
126.3
77.8
232.6
503.6
Households with children 12-18
6.7
46.2
37.3
115.1
34.8
252.4
497.4
Income <130% poverty threshold
6.0
53.1
46.7
118.6
71.3
177.4
546.6
130% < income < 185% poverty threshold
6.9
58.6
36.2
105.0
72.5
255.0
522.4
185% poverty threshold < income
6.6
43.7
36.6
111.6
76.9
254.1
491.0
53.7
127.1
97.2
139.0
561.8
37.5
111.4
73.2
246.7
501.1
Persons in households with
Members under age 19
Persons in households with
members under age 19
Obtain Food Stamps
6.9
Do not obtain Food Stamps
6.6
46.3
Persons in households with
Members under age 19
One adult in household
7.3
43.6
36.4
105.8
64.0
218.3
522.0
More than one adult in household
6.6
47.5
38.9
113.0
75.8
239.6
504.8
One child
6.9
48.2
34.4
106.0
60.2
240.9
508.7
2-3 children
6.4
45.7
40.5
114.7
85.6
238.7
503.3
4 or more children
6.2
52.1
63.8
153.9
114.5
207.3
504.3
Persons in households with
Members under age 19
Note: Grocery shopping is 070101.
Food preparation is 0202xx.
Housework is all 02xx activities (including food preparation).
Childcare is 0301xx, 0302xx, 0303xx, 0401xx, 0402xx, and 0403xx.
Paid Work includes all of 05xxxx except 050202.
Sleeping includes 010101 and 010102.
Related travel times are not included in any of the activities.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics American Time Use Survey and ERS Eating & Health Module.
50
How Much Time Do Americans Spend on Food? / EIB-86
Economic Research Service/USDA
Appendix table 8
Average time spent in various activities on an average day over 2006-08 for adults age 19 and over
(usual/not usual grocery shopper/meal preparer) in households with children or youth,
by school/daycare meal obtainment
Average minutes per day spent in selected activities
Grocery
shopping
not
usual usual
shop- shopper
per
Grocery
shopping—
those who
shopped
Food prep/
cleanup
usual
shopper
not
usual usual
food food
prepreparer parer
Childcare
Paid work
Sleep
not
usual usual
food food
prepreparer parer
not
usual usual
food food
prepreparer parer
not
usual usual
food food
prepreparer parer
Housework
usual
food
preparer
not
usual
food
preparer
Obtain school/daycare meals
Persons in households with
members under age 19
8.2
2.3
44.9
54.1
12.5
138.1
66.2
80.3
39.3 222.7 331.6 504.6 501.5
Households with children 5 years
and under
8.1
2.3
47.6
54.8
14.1
135.1
62.5 115.1
61.9 213.2 348.6 509.7 496.0
Households with children 6-11
8.5
2.3
45.0
59.0
13.3
146.8
71.6
91.6
45.3 211.8 329.2 505.3 500.5
Households with children 12-18
8.2
2.7
43.0
56.8
10.8
146.8
66.1
60.3
25.3 222.1 314.9 501.6 509.0
Income <130% poverty threshold
8.5
3.4
46.4
69.3
11.5
163.1
71.2
90.7
41.1 143.1 270.5 530.7 535.6
130% < income < 185% poverty
threshold
7.4
3.0
51.8
56.0
12.1
146.4
61.2
77.8
29.0 221.7 358.5 510.5 507.5
185% poverty threshold < income
8.2
1.9
42.5
46.5
13.1
123.8
65.2
76.8
41.4 261.7 349.8 490.0 486.7
Obtain SNAP/Food Stamps
7.9
2.7
50.0
67.2
14.7
153.3
68.9 102.1
49.2 120.7 253.7 533.3 549.6
Do not obtain SNAP/Food Stamps
8.1
2.3
43.9
51.9
12.3
135.3
65.8
76.9
38.3 240.1 339.4 499.9 497.0
One adult in household
6.4
--
43.9
44.9
--
118.8
--
77.6
More than one adult in Household
8.5
2.3
45.0
55.7
12.5
141.4
66.5
80.7
39.0 219.2 332.5 503.2 500.8
One child
6.9
1.9
43.9
45.0
12.0
122.3
61.7
50.5
27.2 247.0 314.2 507.3 507.4
2-3 children
8.9
2.5
45.5
56.0
13.1
141.8
70.2
91.3
44.8 218.0 341.8 503.7 498.7
4 or more children
8.1
3.2
43.6
75.0
10.6
172.6
56.8 119.2
52.1 162.7 333.4 500.4 496.5
Persons in households with
Members under age 19
Persons in households with
Members under age 19
Persons in households with
members under age 19
-- 242.9
-- 512.6
--
Persons in households with
Members under age 19
—continued
51
How Much Time Do Americans Spend on Food? / EIB-86
Economic Research Service/USDA
Appendix table 8
Average time spent in various activities on an average day over 2006-08 for adults age 19 and over
(usual/not usual grocery shopper/meal preparer) in households with children or youth,
by school/daycare meal obtainment—continued
Average minutes per day spent in selected activities
Grocery
shopping
not
usual usual
shop- shopper
per
Grocery
shopping—
those who
shopped
Food prep/
cleanup
usual
shopper
not
usual usual
food food
prepreparer parer
Housework
usual
food
preparer
not
usual
food
preparer
Childcare
Paid work
Sleep
not
usual usual
food food
prepreparer parer
not
usual usual
food food
prepreparer parer
not
usual usual
food food
prepreparer parer
Do not obtain school/daycare
meals
Persons in households with
members under age 19
8.6
3.0
47.4
52.5
15.4
138.8
67.8
92.3
45.5 193.4 314.3 508.9 500.8
Households with children 5 years
and under
8.3
3.2
49.0
55.4
17.9
134.8
67.5 141.7
74.7 167.2 322.9 519.1 504.7
Households with children 6-11
7.9
2.1
45.6
58.9
15.8
154.2
76.4
94.0
49.1 185.4 316.8 505.6 500.2
Households with children 12-18
9.1
2.8
46.6
51.3
16.1
144.2
71.0
42.6
23.0 215.4 308.6 500.7 492.5
Income <130% poverty threshold
6.9
3.5
51.0
54.9
27.3
134.0
82.3
79.2
52.5 158.0 223.3 546.4 547.1
130%| File Type | application/pdf |
| File Title | How Much Time Do Americans Spend on Food?, EIB-86 |
| Subject | time use, eating patterns, obesity, BMI, school meals, grocery shopping, meal preparation, Food Stamp Program, SNAP, National Sc |
| Author | Karen S. Hamrick, Margaret Andrews, Joanne Guthrie, David Hopkin |
| File Modified | 2013-12-18 |
| File Created | 2011-11-08 |