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Breakfast, lunch and dinner are not a given for the entire French population. According to a Deloitte study, some are forced to skip one of them for budget reasons.
Traditionally, three meals a day are considered an established fact that everyone should enjoy. But in reality, nothing is that simple, especially when food prices play spoilsport. The Deloitte* firm has just published a study devoted to consumption in 2024 which reveals that more than four out of ten French people do not respect the three meals a day. In an era where everything moves fast, we could repeat that schedules lead to the absence of breakfast or lunch. And yet, this report highlights the lack of financial means of a part of the French population, and not the issue of lack of time.
For 70% of French people, their income is not sufficient to give all the importance they would like to give to food in their lifestyle. The reason is inflation. No less than 87.5% say they are impacted by it. In 2023, an Ipsos study for La Tablée des Chefs already revealed that nine out of ten people earning the minimum wage or less skipped a meal to cope with inflation. Low-income households had also said they were reducing the portion size on their plates…
However, it should be remembered that the current context is in full slowdown with inflation reaching only 2.2% over one year in June. Food prices have even fallen slightly, by around 0.2%.
As for the three meals a day rule, let’s add that the scientific community does not have a consensus on the subject. Some researchers validate the theory of fasting for 16 hours which would help to limit excess weight or diabetes. But others subscribe to a completely opposite philosophy by warning that the body sends hunger signals every three or four hours. By skipping a meal, we would thus tend to snack more and/or eat more at the meal following the one that was missed.
Health issues when sitting down to eat are not trivial to highlight, especially since more than 25% of French people adopt a diet that includes restrictions. Also, 42.4% of the population is concerned about their health when making food choices.
The quality/price ratio remains the first purchasing criterion, followed by 59% of French people. It is all the more important since a large majority of the population respects the ritual of weekly shopping, with 80% of respondents doing it at least once a week.
*This survey was conducted among a panel of 1,000 French people questioned between October and December 2023.