Having home cooked meals keeps you slim

EATING home-cooked meals could help keep you slim and cut your risk of diabetes, a study has shown.

Researchers found those who normally had dinner at home were thinner than their counterparts who liked to dine out. And their risk of diabetes was cut by up to 15 per cent.

Heading home for lunch is also good for your health, the study showed. The researchers, from Harvard School of Public Health, said this was because home-cooked meals are likely to be healthier than those eaten out. People also tend to consume more sugary drinks in restaurants than at home.

Lead researcher Dr Geng Zong tracked the health of almost 100,000 men and women for 26 years. The volunteers were questioned on their diet and lifestyle as well as where they ate their meals. All were free of diabetes at the start of the study but, by the end, more than 9,000 had developed the condition.

The analysis, published in the journal PLOS Medicine, revealed the more meals a person had at home, the lower their risk of getting diabetes. Dinners at home were particularly good for the subjects’ health, with those who had their evening meal at home five to seven times a week 15 per cent less likely to develop diabetes than those who ate in twice a week.

Having lunch at home was also beneficial, with volunteers who had most of their midday meals at home 9 per cent less likely to develop diabetes. People who ate at home also put on less weight over the years.

The researchers concluded: ‘Meals prepared out of the home are usually high in energy and fat but low in micronutrients. We need to encourage cooking meals at home to facilitate diabetes prevention.’