November 9, 2015 | 2 minute read

Last Friday, a new study prompted headlines proclaiming that eating away from home and eating fast food may not link to obesity. Today, we’re hearing about a study from a scientific meeting showing that eating more homemade meals links to lower risk for type 2 diabetes.

Both obesity and type 2 diabetes link to many common cancers, including colorectal, liver and postmenopausal breast. But with seemingly contradictory take-aways, you may be left wondering – does it really matter where and what I eat?

Yes, it does!

Here’s what the researchers agree on:

• whether or not these foods link to obesity, french fries, candy and sugary sodas are not healthy food choices
• eating less food overall is the key to get to and stay a healthy weight

Overall research shows that eating away from home links to lower diet quality.  We’ve written about one study showing that eating out – whether at a sit down or a fast food restaurant – leads to eating more calories.

If you’d like to prepare more meals at home but need ideas for quick and simple homemade meals, we’ve developed 5 dinner menus you can prepare in 30 minutes or less that fits the cancer-protective New American Plate way of eating. And for dining out I wrote about 6 ways you can make healthy choices in restaurants.