Eating away from home in Canada: impact on dietary intake

Little empirical attention has been paid to patterns of Canadians' consumption of food away from home (FAFH) before the pandemic. According to a 2004 national-level dietary survey, one-quarter of Canadians reported having eaten something from a fast-food outlet on the previous day. More recent data on Canadians' FAFH consumption would serve as a valuable benchmark to estimate any post-pandemic changes in Canadians' dietary habits. This study used 2015 Canadian Community Health Survey-Nutrition, the most recent national-level dietary data available, to characterize patterns of FAFH consumption in a restaurant setting and to assess differences in the dietary intake profile on a day when FAFH was consumed or not consumed.