Nearly 40 per cent of Canadians eat lunch at their desks, new research shows

MONTREAL — Almost 40 per cent of Canadians are eating lunch at their desks — a number that reflects increasing workplace pressures as well as shifting attitudes toward meals, says the lead author of a new study gauging the country’s eating habits.

The survey, which was conducted by Nova Scotia’s Dalhousie University, found that 39 per cent of respondents ate at their desks, compared with 37 per cent who ate lunch at home. The remaining 24 per cent had lunch in a cafeteria or in a kitchen-type room.

“It really speaks to how pressured workers are,” said lead author Sylvain Charlebois, a professor in food distribution and policy at Dalhousie. “To take the time to go eat any meal at work is slowly becoming a luxury.”

Charlebois and his team found that 72 per cent of respondents packed their own work lunches, while 24 per cent either bought their lunches to eat outside or ate at restaurants.

People in Atlantic Canada eat lunch at their desks most often, at almost 50 per cent, the study suggested.

They’re also much more likely to eat alone, with 68 per cent reporting doing so.

Only 36 per cent of Quebecers eat lunch alone, while the figure is 61 per cent in Ontario.

When it comes to dinner, Canadians are increasingly turning to ready-made meals or eating out at restaurants, the study found.

Some 41 per cent of survey respondents reported doing so once or twice a week, while three per cent said they did so every day.

Taken together, Charlebois says the results of the study show what he calls “a complete disintegration of our meal habits” and the abandonment of the traditional three-meals-a-day structure around which most days were scheduled.

“Lunch was the first meal to disappear, because most people are challenged by work, and breakfast is next,” he said.

He believes dietitians and nutritionists may have to adjust what kind of advice they give the public in light of changing habits.

“Instead of imposing more discipline to Canadians, we need to figure out ways for Canadians to consume good healthy foods throughout the day regardless of what time of day it is,” he said.

The study surveyed 1,019 Canadian adults this past March and April and has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.