Who is eating where? Findings from the SocioEconomic Status and Activity in Women (SESAW) study.

OBJECTIVE Foods prepared outside of the home have been linked to less-than-ideal nutrient profiles for health. We examine whether the locations where meals are prepared and consumed are associated with socio-economic predictors among women. DESIGN A cross-sectional study using self-reported data. We examined multiple locations where meals are prepared and consumed: (i) at home; (ii) fast food eaten at home; (iii) fast food eaten at the restaurant; (iv) total fast food; (v) non-fast-food restaurant meals eaten at home; (vi) non-fast-food restaurant meals eaten at the restaurant; and (vii) all non-fast-food restaurant meals. Multilevel logistic regression was used to determine whether frequent consumption of meals from these sources varied by level of education, occupation, household income and area-level disadvantage. SETTING Metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. SUBJECTS A total of 1328 women from forty-five neighbourhoods randomly sampled for the SocioEconomic Status and Activity in Women study. RESULTS Those with higher educational qualifications or who were not in the workforce (compared with those in professional employment) were more likely to report frequent consumption of meals prepared and consumed at home. High individual- and area-level socio-economic characteristics were associated with a lower likelihood of frequent consumption of fast food and a higher likelihood of frequent consumption of meals from non-fast-food sources. The strength and significance of relationships varied by place of consumption. CONCLUSIONS The source of meal preparation and consumption varied by socio-economic predictors. This has implications for policy makers who need to continue to campaign to make healthy alternatives available in out-of-home food sources.