Study: Is ‘three square meals a day’ a thing of the past?

Modern-day eating diets and trends are changing society’s typical “three square meals a day” tradition, according to a new study from market researcher Packaged Facts.

The study, “Eating Trends: Mealtimes and Snacking,” states that mealtimes and dining patterns are increasingly deviating from the longstanding tradition of three square meals a day. The study also notes that it has been decades since the importance of breakfast over lunch or dinner has been “this hotly debated and contested” — especially with the trends toward snacking between meals and eating several smaller meals daily further muddying mealtime management.

“There’s a surging fluidity to modern mealtimes,” says David Sprinkle, research director for Packaged Facts. “The reality is U.S. adults are increasingly eating differently, if not eating less.”

The survey also revealed that as of 2018, in terms of the three main meals, a far higher share of adults consider breakfast to be the most important meal of the day compared with lunch or dinner. Even so, the percentage considering breakfast to be most important has edged downward since 2008, with lunch and dinner each gaining more priority.

The research also found that the percentage of adults who eat several smaller meals throughout the day edged up slightly from 2008 to 2018. Notably, some essential and increasingly influential consumer demographic segments showed a greater likelihood than average toward eating several smaller meals throughout the day, including Hispanics, African-Americans and women.