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A study by three researchers at Dalhousie University in Halifax recently reported that British Columbians eat out more than other Canadians.
It also showed that single people are more likely to skip breakfast, and if you're a single, British Columbian, then you're three times more likely to skip breakfast.
The study, Disintegration of food habits: A look at the socioeconomics of food, the blurring lines between traditional meals and out-of-household food consumption, was researched and reported by Sylvain Charlebois, Simon Somogyi and Sara Kirk.
Women (three times more likely), people with less income ($40K or less) and high school graduates are more likely to skip meals in general.
But regardless of if you fit the female, lower income, high school graduate, or British Columbia bracket, the study reported that the majority of Canadians often eat alone (66.8 per cent).
BREAKFAST
The study showed that 74 per cent of Canadians eat breakfast every day and 9.5 per cent eat breakfast one to two times per week.
Even more Canadians (85.8 per cent) eat breakfast at home, while 6.8 per cent eat at work and 7.4 per cent buy breakfast out at a restaurant or coffee shop.
But much of the eating out came from Millenials, Gen Xers, singles and lower income earners.
LUNCH
When it came to lunch habits, the survey results showed again that women are more likely to skip lunch than men and single people are more likely to skip lunch than married or divorced people.
Also, most Canadians eat lunch alone.
DINNER
People without kids were three times more likely to eat dinner out.
In general, the survey shows strong results in skipping meals and snacking more often.
"Consumers who earn less and are less educated are likely to eat out more often, which could make this demographic group more prone to unhealthy food choices," said Simon Somogyi.
SNACKING
Not just breakfast - British Columbians eat out in general more than any other province (61 per cent).
When it came to snacking, 57 per cent of British Columbians said "I don't have time during the week, I make an effort to cook a good meal on the weekend."
According to the study, singles and consumers in British Columbia snack more than anybody else.
Consumers in B.C. are more likely to eat out and feel more pressured to "stay out of the kitchen."
In fact, the study showed that the higher education and higher income a person had, the more likely they were to eat breakfast at home on a daily basis.
Women and people earning less than $40k are three times more likely to skip breakfast and more likely to skip lunch than men or people earning a higher income.
The of the study was used to examine traditional meal times and structured eating habits.
The study used a sample size of 1019 people and over five weeks, between March and April 2017.
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