Global Insights Into Cooking Enjoyment and Eating Together – From “The Gallup World Poll 2022”
Ajinomoto Co., Inc. in collaboration with the US research company Gallup, Inc. (“Gallup”), has conducted a global survey showing the relationship of “cooking enjoyment” and “eating together” with “well-being” and published the survey report on Gallup’s website.
1On how many days did you eat lunch with someone you know?
2On how many days did you eat dinner with someone you know?
3Thinking about the past 7 days, in general did you enjoy cooking? If you didn’t cook in the past 7 days, please just say so.
The survey showed that,
the subjective well-being index increased with the frequency of eating with others and that enjoying cooking and frequently eating with others contribute to subjective well-being.
Survey method
Ajinomoto Co. partnered with Gallup using the Gallup World Poll to conduct the first worldwide study on the relationship between cooking enjoyment and eating together with subjective well-being.
About the Gallup World Poll
The Gallup World Poll, which has continually surveyed residents in over 150 countries since 2005, regularly measures individuals' well-being.
In 2022, the Gallup World Poll included three new questions about “cooking enjoyment” and “the frequency of eating together” in 142 countries.
Gallup's well-being questions are included in the United Nations’ “World HappinessReport,” and the OECD’s “Better Life Index.”
Note: Due to rounding, percentages may not sum to 100%. % “Do not know”/”Refuse to answer” responses are not shown. Source: The Ajinomoto Group/Gallup 2022
Nearly 60% of people worldwide said they enjoyed cooking.
More than 70% of women said they enjoyed cooking.
Enjoyment of cooking, by region
Note: Due to rounding, percentages may not sum to 100%. % “Do not know”/“Refuse to answer” responses are not shown. Source: The Ajinomoto Group/Gallup 2022
In Northern America and Northern, Southern and Western Europe, nearly three in four people said they generally enjoyed cooking.
In Arab States, Africa, Asia excluding Southeast Asia, about half of individuals said they generally enjoyed cooking.
Cooking enjoyment, by demographic characteristics and gender
Percentage who enjoyed cooking in the past 7 days
Source: The Ajinomoto Group/Gallup 2022
Across all major demographic groups, more than 70% of women enjoyed cooking.
Note: The Gallup World Poll Life Evaluation Index categorizes people as “thriving,” “suffering” and “struggling,” depending on how they rated their present and future lives. Those who are considered “thriving” rate their life highly on both items; “suffering” represents people who rated their life poorly for both items. All other individuals are classified as “struggling.” Source: The Ajinomoto Group/Gallup 2022
People who said they enjoyed cooking in the past seven days were 10% higher more likely to be thriving than people who did not enjoy cooking.
Odds of thriving in the Life Evaluation Index are 20% higher among those who enjoyed cooking in the past seven days
Note: “Did not enjoy cooking” or “did not cook in the past 7 days” is the reference category, meaning the odds are set at 1. Source: The Ajinomoto Group/Gallup 2022
People who said they enjoyed cooking in the past seven days were 1.2 times more likely to be thriving than people who did not enjoy cooking or had not cooked during that time.
The analysis revealed that individuals’ feelings about cooking remained statistically significant even after controlling for other factors (including household income, gender, age cohort, educational attainment, employment status, marital status, urbanity and country of residence).
Thriving Index, by number of days people ate dinner together and gender
Average Thriving Index score
Note: The Thriving Index has a scale between 0-100. A higher value indicates a larger number of people within a given group are considered “thriving” in their life evaluations. Source: The Ajinomoto Group/Gallup 2022
Globally, those who ate dinner with people they know at least four days in the previous week had an index score of 33.3, compared to 25.1 among those who did so less frequently and 20.7 among those who did not eat dinner with others.
A similar picture emerged when comparing how frequently people ate lunch with others they know and their likelihood of thriving in their life evaluation.
Women and men were both significantly more likely to score higher on the Thriving Index if they ate dinner with someone they know at least four times in the past week than those who did so on a less frequent basis or not at all.
Solitary diners who live alone vs. those who eat with others: Differences in life evaluation ratings, feelings of social connectedness and perceptions of physical health
Percentage suffering and average score by group on the Social Life Index and Personal Health Index among respondents living in-high income countries
Note: Respondents who said they did not eat lunch or dinner in the past seven days with someone they know but do not live alone were excluded from this analysis. Source: The Ajinomoto Group/Gallup 2022
Solitary diners in high-income countries appear to perform worse on key quality-of-life measures featured on the Gallup World Poll than those in high-income countries who ate at least one meal with someone they know in the past seven days
Regarding social connectedness, solitary diners in high-income countries were at a clear disadvantage to those who ate with someone they know, as reflected by the former group’s Social Life Index34 score of 74.8 versus the notably higher average of 82.5 enjoyed by the latter group.
Demographic composition of the five types of home cooks
Percentage of respondents falling into each of the five final cluster solutions
Source: The Ajinomoto Group and Cookpad/Gallup 2022
Of the five “types’’ of home chefs across the world, Joyful Chefs comprise the largest cluster, at 36% of the global population.
Source: The Ajinomoto Group and Cookpad/Gallup 2022
Life Evaluation, by type of home cook
Percentage of respondents indicating various levels of subjective wellbeing across clusters
Source: The Ajinomoto Group and Cookpad/Gallup 2022
Conclusion
Cooking and dining with people you know, such as family members or friends, may seem like familiar, commonplace activities that bear little consequence on an individual’s overall quality of life. However, the survey results suggest otherwise: Those who enjoy cooking and frequently eat with others not only potentially nourish their body through these actions but their soul as well.
By contrast, solitary diners may not only be at risk of missing out on these potential upsides but also encountering outright negative outcomes. This is perhaps best exemplified by the finding that solo diners in high-income countries are about three times as likely to be suffering in their life evaluation as high-income residents who shared at least one meal with someone they know.
As a greater number of people around the world live alone, often not by choice but due to changing life circumstances which may themselves be difficult— such as the death of a household member or divorce — this is a serious challenge to tackle for policymakers, community advocates and other stakeholders interested in improving the overall wellbeing of their community.
