[Photo/IC]

Home-cooked meals make us healthier than eating out and reduce the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, said a US study Sunday.

Those who ate 11 to 14 lunches or dinners a week -- or about two homemade meals each day -- had a 13 percent lower risk of developing Type 2 diabetes compared to those who ate less than six homemade lunches or dinners a week, according to the study presented at the American Heart Association's annual meeting in Orlando, Florida.

The researchers did not have enough information to include breakfasts in their analysis.

The findings were based on data from nearly 58,000 women who took part in a national nurse health study and more than 41,000 men in another study of male health professionals followed for up to 36 years.