title: Who still eats three meals a day? Findings from a quantitative survey in the Paris area.
abstract: In France, mealtimes constitute a strong cultural trait, especially the three-meal pattern. The aim of our study was to test whether this pattern is still prevailing and to what extent familial structure, gender, poverty and migration have an effect on meal frequency. This study is based on a cross-sectional analysis of data collected in 2010 in the SIRS cohort study among a representative sample of 3006 adults in the Paris metropolitan area. We developed simple logistic models and multinomial logistic models. Results confirmed that the three-meal pattern remains strongly rooted in food habits in the Paris area. For three meals a day, the presence of a partner was more significant than the presence of children in the household. However, the study highlighted that one out of four inhabitants declared eating two meals a day only. The results emphasized gender differences in eating two meals a day, as being less frequent but more distinctive for women than for men. For women indeed, it was mainly linked to economic and social vulnerability (women below the poverty line, foreigners, in single parent families). In this respect, the paper provides new insights into the social differentiation of meal patterns, and calls for further analysis.
authors.affiliation: INRA, UR1303 ALISS, 65 Boulevard de Brandebourg, F-94205 Ivry sur Seine Cedex, France. Anne.Lhuissier@ivry.inra.fr
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lhuissier
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tichit
authors.forename: France
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Caillavet
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cardon
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Masullo
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Martin-Fernandez
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Parizot
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chauvin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D062408:Breakfast; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003625:Data Collection; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D062409:Lunch; D008297:Male; D062407:Meals; D008875:Middle Aged; D010297:Paris; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult