Americans eat the fastest in the entire world
Charts, love ‘em. An infographic with data on average meat consumption per capita by country—I devour it. Delightful food facts from studies, just as delicious. And I didn’t know this one yet: Americans eat the fastest in the entire world. They spend no more than an hour and one minute a day eating—including snacks.
An hour and one minute, so that’s breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks all added together. Very fast! We Dutch are also quick to leave the table, spending an average of one hour and ten minutes on it every day. The French are the champions of long meals, at two hours and 11 minutes every day, closely followed by Italy at 2 hours and 5 minutes.
Eating and cooking
A broad study by the American Cancer Institute shows that Americans also often combine eating and drinking with something else, such as watching television. They also often eat while working. Facts: 63 minutes are spent drinking while they are actually doing something else, such as working, watching television or driving. People also eat while tidying the house or while cooking.
Watching television
Having an occasional taste or nibbling a cracker while stirring the pots isn’t so strange, is it? But frequently eating and drinking while your attention is focused elsewhere is not healthy, according to the research institute. They see a link with a higher BMI, especially among people who eat and drink while watching television or driving.
To the table!
Comparing this with the Netherlands: research by television programme Radar shows that sixty percent of Dutch people pay attention to their food, for example by turning off the television. 4% of the participants in the 2019 study used their mobile phone while eating, and three-quarters of Dutch people eat their evening meal at the table.
