Farewell the eating hour: lunch now lasts ‘just 22 minutes’

The lunch hour has become a thing of the past as we are now spending just 22 minutes a day eating lunch, according to new research commissioned by Bord Bia.

One in two people works during their lunch break and many of us are also managing to squeeze in some social media activity and catch up on the news online during those minutes.

The research found that the time we spent eating lunch rose as the week went on, culminating in 28 minutes for Sunday lunch. Bord Bia insight and brand manager Paula Donoghue said lunchtime was now about a lot more than food because people were so busy.

“It’s all about staying connected so when they switch off from work at lunchtime they are going on social media. They are looking at their Facebook, their Twitter pages. They are reading things online, or they are catching up on phone calls to friends, family or colleagues,” she said.

“You would think people might want to switch off when they come to their lunch break but in fact they are catching up on what they missed during the morning.”

The lunchtime study, carried out by Behaviour and Attitudes and involving almost 1,000 respondents, will be published by Bord Bia later this month.