Destructuration of the Belgian meal pattern? Changes in the temporal, social and spatial aspects of eating practices by means of time-use data

Western eating habits seem to worry us nowadays. The current debate on eating habits focuses, among other things, on the social organization of eating practices and more particularly the fate of meals. It is often assumed that traditional meals are substituted by snacks. This process is often considered as a decline of eating habits: the normative expectations concerning the social organization of eating are not met in practice and this is believed to be increasingly so. Eating practices are not random practices, but reveal a particular structure. The social norm prescribes that eating practices occur through meals, which are organized in a particular manner regarding time use, social context and location. Ideally we eat three times per day, at set moments. Alongside breakfast in the morning and lunch at noon, the most important meal of the day, dinner, is taken in the evening. Ideally dinner is a family affair that occurs at home at the dinner table. Although from a historical point of view the three-meal pattern and the family meal are recent institutions, various sociological studies have shown that they have an important sociological impact. This study focuses on the changes in eating practices. Our first aim is to assess whether eating practices have changed regarding time use, location and social context in the past decades. We investigate to what extent these recent changes attest to an increasing deviation from the idealized image of the three-meal pattern and the family meal. The second aim of the study includes that we get an insight into the factors that affect eating practices. We investigate which factors have an impact on the temporal, social and spatial organization of eating practices. So far there was only little scientific research on the social organization of eating, the changes it has experienced and the reasons for these changes. This study aims to get a new insight into the changes in eating practices by means of Belgian time-use research from 1966, 1999 and 2004. The study reveals that our eating habits are less often shaped according to the idealized image of the three-meal pattern. Meals are more often skipped, eating more often occurs beyond proper mealtimes, less time is devoted to eating and eating more often occurs during other, simultaneous activities like watching TV. Compared to the 1960s Belgians more often eat alone and less often in the company of the family. We also find a wider variety of eating locations: eating outdoors, at the desk or in the sofa is more widespread. Nevertheless, the changes in eating practices are more modest than what is often assumed in the media or by trendwatchers. The time-use data show that eating practices remain highly institutionalized practices. Eating practices are still highly predictable regarding time use, location and social context. Despite the alarming figures on expenditures on meals outdoors and the spread of (fast-food) restaurants, the time-use data confirm that eating predominantly remains a domestic occasion. The study equally reveals that some of the presumed reasons behind the so-called decline of Western eating habits have no impact on eating practices. The omnipresence of food does not necessarily result in the omnipresence of food consumption. Contrary to what is often believed, the presence of a microwave oven does not promote eating alone or beyond proper mealtimes. Our analyses show that eating practices are mainly affected by the composition of the household and the phase in the lifecycle. This is not only so for the social contacts during eating occasions but this also holds for the temporal and spatial aspects o