What Time Do You Prefer To Eat Dinner? - Exclusive Survey
Taking time to eat three healthy meals per day is no doubt important, but it can be hard to eat at the same time consistently because of life's hecticness. Nevertheless, it's important to make time to eat a healthy dinner. When it comes to enjoying dinner as a family, there are many developmental benefits for children, according to Mississippi State University Extension, such as adolescents being more likely to graduate from high school. Other benefits include a reduced risk for obesity and substance abuse and being less likely to develop an eating disorder.
Even without children, making sure you eat healthy dinners is important. The CDC says meal planning greatly helps with making healthy food choices. And there are many benefits for adults who make good food choices, such as healthier skin, teeth, and eyes, as well as a stronger immune system and a well-functioning digestive system.
With so much importance placed on dinner, Tasting Table asked its readers what time they prefer to eat dinner, and 567 people responded with their personal preferences.
Neither early nor late
Europeans may be known for eating a late dinner (around 10 p.m. in Spain), but Tasting Table readers aren't fans of consuming a meal after 9 p.m. Only 10 of the 567 respondents (1.76%) said their ideal time for eating dinner is after 9 p.m. As it turns out, our readers are not fans of eating late in general, as the 8 to 9 p.m. time slot came in second to last place with 5.64% of the vote.
Our readers are like Goldilocks, they do not want to eat too late or too early, as only 182 or 32.1% of survey respondents said they want to eat dinner between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. They may want to reconsider, though, because one study found that an early dinner may help burn fat and lower blood sugar, according to Healthline.
By far the most popular time to eat dinner among Tasting Table readers was 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., with 246 people, or 43.49% of respondents opting to eat during that hour. Those who prefer to eat one hour later, between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. dropped drastically to 97 respondents or 17.11%.