About three quarters of the French still eat three meals a day, while the last quarter have switched to two meals. This is what emerges from an Inserm study published on Tuesday, March 31. However, there are many differences in the way meals are taken.
To get a clearer picture and help to better orient the public health messages sent to the population, Inserm researchers interviewed 3,000 people in Ile-de-France, based on the SIRS cohort (Health, inequalities and social ruptures ). This very diverse sample includes all possible populations, of different ages and cultures, of various socio-professional categories. For the study, individuals had to detail their eating habits for a week, which allowed scientists to differentiate 5 major practices.
While three quarters of French people eat three meals a day at roughly fixed times, 33% eat lunch outside, at the workplace or at the workplace. restaurant with colleagues or friends. For a quarter of French people, or 25% of those questioned, meals are taken at home with the family. This category is the one that best meets the recommendations of five fruits and vegetables per day. Finally, for 17%, meals are also taken at home, but alone, in front of the television or listening to the radio. These people are more involved in the preparation of their meals, and correspond to rather elderly people with modest incomes, reports Inserm.
Among the followers of two meals a day only, most of them jump breakfast, snack more and “find the quality of their diet poor.” “In addition,” they are those which respect the dietary recommendations the least “, notes Inserm, which distinguishes two subcategories of people in this case. A first part (13%) of people eat at home, most often in front of the television, although their family is present. This category generally includes individuals who are less well off, less educated and often of foreign origin. The remaining 12% eat outside in a convivial atmosphere, and correspond more to the caricature of “the single Parisian bobo”, jokes one of the researchers behind the study.
A veritable anthology of French people’s eating habits, these results “show that it is necessary to segment public health messages in order to address the target populations” concludes the research team.
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