Australians choose convenience over health for lunch

More Australians say convenience and value for money rather than health and nutrition are the key drivers for their lunchtime choices, according to a recent study conducted by SumoSalad.

SumoSalad’s National Lunchtime Habits Survey showed that 46% of Australians make their choice of lunch based on convenience and value for money, while only 31% take health and nutrition into consideration. Overall, 86% of respondents said breakfast and dinner are more important than lunch. SumoSalad says this is reflected in Australians’ poor lunchtime choices and habits.

“The SumoSalad National Lunchtime Habits Survey reveals that our lack of time and interest around lunch is leading to poor dietary habits, which can lead to increased risks of obesity, diabetes and other lifestyle-related diseases,” said Georgia Moore, SumoSalad’s dietitian.

“Given the large gap between breakfast and dinner, lunch is actually one of our most important meals. It ensures we have sufficient energy levels to get us through the day, maintaining decent levels of productivity. A poor lunch choice can throw off the rest of our day in terms of ‘good’ habits and can set us up to fail in the healthy eating stakes on a regular basis.”

Other key findings from the survey include:

• 36% of Australians say they eat healthy lunches 2-3 times a week
• 38% of us eat lunch at our desk or in the workplace
• 33% of takeaway choices consist of burgers/chicken and chips, Asian (curry, stir-fry, noodles) or bakery items (pies, sausage rolls)
• Cake/slices/doughnuts (28%) and chocolate (20%) are the most popular lunchtime treats