Cheese and the Ever-shrinking Lunch Break
Created | Updated Nov 6, 2020
According to a lunchtime eating habits survey, recently conducted by the National Cheese Institute (NCI), a true lunch 'hour' is now considered to be a luxury, with the average person downing their lunch in just 24 minutes.
The food most often found in lunch boxes is cheese, and this is usually eaten in a sandwich. The survey revealed that 41% of the respondents make this calcium-rich food a part of their daily mid-day meal. Cheddar is the cheese of choice, preferred by 45% of those surveyed, trailed by Swiss (38%) and American (33%) cheeses.
'Selecting convenient and healthful foods for lunch, like cheese, is the way to maintain a well-balanced diet on-the-go,' said Ruth Carey, registered dietitian. 'Cheese is so popular because it's easy to grab in a fix and provides powerful nutrients like calcium and protein needed on a daily basis.'
Typical Lunch Foods
- Cheese
- Fruit
- Salad
- Chicken
At Lunchtime Make Sure You...
- Take a break
- Eat nutritiously
- Don't eat quickly
- Get an energy boost
What's a Nutritious Lunch?
- Achieving a good balance between food groups
- One that's low in fat
- One that's high in vitamins and nutrients
- One that's low in calories
Different Eating Styles
Explorer
Likes to try something 'new' for lunch.Predictable
Likes to have the same thing every day.Grazer
Likes to eat lots of little snacks.
Quick Facts
- Men are almost twice as predictable as women when choosing lunch.
- The majority of women business executives spend over 30 minutes eating lunch.
- The most popular reason people eat cheese for lunch is because it 'tastes good'.
- More Americans want to have a 'power lunch' with Tom Hanks than with any other celebrity1.