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LIFESTYLE

47% Are Eating Out Less Often Than They Were Six Months Ago

Americans still prefer a home-cooked meal to one in a restaurant, and they’re eating out less than they were six months ago.  

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 47% of American Adults say they are going out to eat less often than they were six months ago.  While that finding shows little change from January, it’s down 10 points from November 2008.  Only 10% say they are dining out more often compared to six months ago, while 43% say their trips to a restaurant are about the same as before.  (To see survey question wording, click here.)

An overwhelming majority (72%) say they enjoy a good home-cooked meal more than one at a fine restaurant.  Twenty-four percent (24%) like restaurant fare better.  These findings show little change since October 2009

Just over half (52%) of Americans say, in a typical week, they sit down with their family members for dinner more than three times.  That finding is up 14 points from October 2009.  Twenty-two percent (22%) say they dine with the family two or three times a week, while 18% do so rarely or never. Seven percent (7%) eat with their family just once a week.

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The survey of 1,000 Adults nationwide was conducted on July 21-22, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

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