From 2003 to 2023, home cooking in the US rose sharply, driven by men and college graduates. However, women still spend more time in the kitchen, and equity gaps in food preparation are widening.
Study: Trends in Home Cooking among US Adults from 2003 to 2023: Analysis of American Time Use Survey Food Preparation. Image credit: Drazen Zigic/Shutterstock.com
In a recent study published in Current Developments in Nutrition, researchers used American Time Use Survey (ATUS) data to estimate the percentage of adults who cook at home and the mean minutes per day among those who cook, overall and by sex and education.
Background
In the United States (US), home cooking is tied to lower body mass index (BMI) and better diet quality, but long workdays, food inflation, and Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) shifts pull people toward ultra-processed meals.
Pressure cookers, meal kits, and one-pot recipes promise speed, but access, equipment, and confidence remain uneven by education and income, shaping who cooks and for how long. The study authors note that these barriers, especially among lower-educated and low-income groups, may influence observed differences in cooking patterns.
About the study
Using the ATUS run by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the team analyzed adults aged 18+ who completed eight Current Population Survey (CPS) interviews before recall. Data were extracted with Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) ATUS Extract Builder for 2003-2023, excluding 2020 because COVID-19 disrupted collection. The analytic focus was Household Activity 020200, food and drink preparation, presentation, and clean-up, capturing primary activity minutes over a 24-hour diary day. Work-related cooking, meal planning, or shopping was not counted. Outcomes were the percentage reporting any cooking (greater than 0 minutes) and the mean minutes per day among those who cooked.
Covariates included sex, age, children in the household, living with a partner, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation from the Eating and Health Module (EHM), employment, education, and race/ethnicity. Individuals on holiday, younger than 18 years, or reporting more than 8.5 hours of cooking were excluded. ATUS probability and replicate weights were applied. Linear regression tested trends from 2003 to 2023; t-statistics compared 2003 with 2023 overall and by sex and education; sensitivity analyses adjusted for demographic shifts. Statistical analysis used Stata 17.0.
Study results
The unweighted sample comprised 231,657 diaries from 2003 to 2023. In 2023, the weighted population skewed older and more educated than in 2003, mirroring US demographic shifts. Across the period, the percentage of adults who cooked on an average day rose overall. Among men, participation increased from 36% to 52%, and 69% to 72% among women.
Time among those who cooked was more stable. Men increased from 45 to 50 minutes per day, whereas women remained at 71 minutes per day. Year-to-year patterns showed men’s participation increasing steadily until stabilizing after 2021, while women's rates fluctuated within a narrow range. Trend tests indicated significant annual increases for both sexes, with a larger annual increase for men and modest time-use changes.
Differences were evident across education groups. Adults with a college degree or higher saw the most significant gain in participation (about +13 percentage points), surpassing those with less than a high school education by 2023 (66% versus 55%). Grouping by sex and education, the most significant increase occurred for men with a college degree or higher (+18 percentage points), and the smallest for women with some college (+2 percentage points), which was not statistically significant.
Daily minutes among those who cooked also differed. From 2003 to 2023, minutes rose by about five among college-educated adults. Within sex-education strata, time increased most for women with less than a high school education (+24 minutes per day) and men with a college degree or higher (+11 minutes per day). Despite gains, women who cooked consistently spent more time than men who cooked.
Sensitivity analyses that adjusted for demographic change reached the same conclusions. Participation trends remained significant for both men and women, and time-use trends were small, with a slightly greater increase observed among women. Together, these patterns suggest that home cooking has become more common without requiring more daily time for most adults.
However, the authors caution that ATUS measures only primary activities and does not capture meal planning, shopping, or multitasking during cooking, which may underestimate total effort. The findings show that cooking gains were concentrated among higher-educated adults, raising concerns for diet quality and health equity since cooking is linked to better nutrition and lower cardiometabolic risk.
Conclusions
More US adults are cooking at home than two decades ago, but the day’s cooking time has barely budged. Men made the most significant increase in participation, yet women remain more likely to cook and, when they do, spend more minutes.
The study found that education shaped cooking habits. Adults with a college degree or higher were more likely to cook, raising concerns that the benefits of home cooking, and the associated improvements in diet quality, may deepen socioeconomic disparities.
Public health programs and curricula should build skills, confidence, and efficiency, especially for men and lower-education groups. Time constraints and costs should be considered to make home cooking realistic and sustainable. SNAP -Ed and the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) are relevant examples cited in the study.
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