Malaysians spend more on eating out than cooking at home as health risks mount, says KRI

The Khazanah Research Institute (KRI) has reported that Malaysian households are now spending more on dining out than on groceries for meal preparation at home, according to a new study titled "From Income to Wellbeing: The State of Households 2026." The report revealed that Malaysian households spent an average of RM902.70 monthly on dining out, compared to RM875.80 on groceries.

Eating out constituted 16.2% of total household spending, a significant increase from 12.6% in 2016. This shift in spending has been the primary driver of higher household expenditures between 2022 and 2024, rising by RM78.20.

The surge in food-related expenses has been more pronounced among the bottom 80% of households, with their average food expenditure increasing nearly 1.5 times between 2019 and 2024. In contrast, the top 20% of households saw their food expenditure rise by less than 1.3 times over the same period. This shift in lifestyle has raised concerns over non-communicable diseases, as several Malaysian states reported higher prevalence rates of diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol than the national averages in 2023. Diabetes was among the top five causes of death in most states between 2022 and 2024.

Moreover, nearly half of Malaysian adults (54.4%) were found to be above the healthy weight range in 2023, while physical activity levels declined in urban areas between 2019 and 2023, as reported by the study.