More than 50 pc Brits too busy to eat properly: survey

Nearly one in three combine breakfast and lunch, consuming a gut-busting brunch to compensate, and the brunch is usually eaten in less than 20 minutes by just under half of those surveyed.

The traditional lunch hour is becoming a thing of the past, with 47 per cent of respondents too busy to do anything more than grab a sandwich at their desk, found the survey conducted by the New York Bakery Company and reported in Cosmopolitan.

A fifth of respondents said they skipped breakfast and lunch altogether, instead choosing to snack throughout the day, the 'Daily Mail' reported.

Breakfast, said by nutritionists to be the healthiest meal of the day and essential for dieters, was also affected by busy schedules, with more than 40 per cent of those polled admitting to spending less than 10 minutes on getting a healthy start to the day.

Most of the snackers also revealed that their constant nibbling left them unable to face a proper supper.

Sixteen per cent of respondents said that they regularly ate their supper after 8pm - just as the digestive system begins to slow down in preparation for sleep.

Londoners were particularly prone to late night dinners, with 14 per cent admitting to eating their final meal of the day after 9pm as a result of working late into the evening.

In Yorkshire meanwhile, midnight feasting - another belly-busting habit - proved popular, with 16 per cent of those surveyed in the county admitting to waking up for a snack during the night.