Making own meals may not mean better diet quality

Another example where "Just do it" does not work.

Young adults who have a hand in making their own meals may not eat much better than those who leave dinner to someone else, a new study suggests.

In a study of 2,800 Australians between the ages of 26 and 36, researchers found little evidence that those who typically helped prepare the main meal on a workday had more healthful diets than those who left the cooking to someone else in the household.

In general, women who said they shared the task of meal preparation tended to get more vegetables in their overall diet than women who avoided kitchen duty -- but the difference amounted to less than one extra serving.

Similarly, men who had sole responsibility for meal preparation tended to eat more lean meat and meat "alternatives" than their less culinary-minded peers. But again, the average difference was minor.

The findings, reported in the Journal of American Dietetic Association, seem to run counter to the theory that people who have a hand in making their own meals generally eat better. While few studies have examined this idea, a couple have found an association between involvement in meal prep and better diet quality, in both teenagers and young adults.

But while these latest findings did not show any strong relationship, they do not mean that people are better off leaving the cooking to someone else -- particularly if that someone is the local take-out place.

Instead, the study underscores the point that "just being involved in meal preparation is not enough," according to lead researcher Kylie J. Smith, a doctoral candidate at the Menzies Research Institute in Hobart, Australia.

"You also have to make the right decisions and include healthy foods in the meals," she told Reuters Health in an email.

To make those "right decisions," go here.