Tag: Dinner history

For most of human history, eating three times a day was not the norm. Our modern pattern of breakfast, lunch, and dinner is a relatively recent development, rooted in the social and economic changes that accompanied the Industrial Revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries.

For much of human history, eating three meals a day was not the norm; in fact, ancient Romans believed eating more than once daily was unhealthy. The structured pattern of breakfast, lunch, and dinner is a relatively recent phenomenon, forged by changing societal needs and the rhythm of industrialization.

Across most Western cultures, the standard of eating three meals a day—breakfast, lunch, and dinner—is not a practice rooted in ancient human biology but is a surprisingly modern social construct. From hunter-gatherers eating whenever food was available to Romans who considered multiple meals gluttonous, the regularity of eating three times a day is a story shaped by history, society, and economics.