Consumption and expenditure on food prepared away from home among Mexican adults in 2006.

OBJECTIVE To describe food expenditure and consumption of foods prepared away from home among Mexican adults. MATERIALS AND METHODS Data were from 45 241 adult participants in the National Health and Nutrition Survey 2006, a nationally-representative, cross-sectional survey of Mexican households. Descriptive statistics and multivariable linear and logistic regression were used to assess the relationship between location of residence, educational attainment, socioeconomic status and the following: 1) expenditure on all food and at restaurants, and 2) frequency of consumption of 'comida corrida' or restaurant food and street food. RESULTS Food expenditure and consumption of food prepared away from home were positively associated with socioeconomic status, educational attainment, and urban vs. rural residence (p<0.001 for all relationships in bivariate analyses). CONCLUSIONS Consumption of food prepared outside home may be an important part of the diet among urban Mexican adults and those with high socioeconomic status and educational attainment.