Ever wondered why you had that meal?

IT’S a well-tried formula – a healthy but filling breakfast, a familiar favourite at lunch, something indulgent for dinner.

Now a study has found what we eat – and why – largely reflects the time of day, with breakfast chosen out of hunger, lunch driven by habit and dinner mainly about pleasure.

Researchers at Kansas State University asked around 300 people to state why they would eat six specific main meals and snacks, or the foods they actually did, over a week.

The study found the main motivations for breakfast choice were hunger and a desire to be healthy.

Convenient, pre-made foods were more likely to be consumed at lunch, often based on other factors such as habit and price.

And pleasure, socialising and variety were the most important reasons when it came to choosing dinner.

The researchers, led by Dr Uyen Phan, say the results could be used to help people diet, stating: ‘Motivations for food choice changed throughout the day, with daytime eating more motivated by functional-oriented factors such as need and hunger, health, weight control, habit and price, while night-time eating was to satisfy “psychological or emotion needs” such as to socialise with people or to please the self and others.’

The study, published in the journal Food Quality and Preference, also found 42 per cent of participants ate virtually the same foods every day. Another 42 per cent try to alternate the foods they eat but do not use a wide variety of ingredients.