Study: Dinner, main meal of the day for most Romanians, too much sugar, salt, fat and fast food

Only 58 percent of Romanians have breakfast every day, but most make sure not to skip dinner – 85 percent, reveals a recent study by ISRA Center. A combination of food choices and lifestyle results in 46 percent of Romanians being overweight and 4 percent underweight, as Romanians eat soups, dairy products, French fries and mashed potatoes every week. The consumption of soup (the Romanian ciorba) drops for more educated people, who tend to eat more salads and fried meat.

The majority of doctors think Romanians don't eat regularly and consume a lot of fat and heavy foods, too much salt and too much sugar, and turn dinner into the main meal of the day. Nutritionists say breakfast is the most important meal of the day and meals should reduce all the way to dinner, while most recommend a light dinner or no dinner at all, for a healthy diet. More than half of family doctors think that Romanians' diet is far from being healthy and correct. Fatty and fast food are among the biggest influences on the diet.

Romanians tend to skip breakfast, which is often associated with smoking. Around 80 percent of Romanian urban dwellers have lunch every day, and the percentage is higher among those with primary education – 89 percent. As Romanians tend not to respect the three meals a day, they also have snacks between meals, which sometimes compensate for the lack of one of the main meals. Around half of Romanians who responded to the survey think that fruits and vegetables are at the core of a healthy diet, and a third believe home cooked food makes for healthy eating, but only 14 percent include the reduction in the consumption of sugar, salt and spices among measures for a healthier life. The ISRA Center study was carried out on 521 respondents in spring 2011, and has an error margin of 3 percent. editor@romania-insider.com