Eating solo: One in three of us now eat more meals by ourselves than we do with other people ,but there are healthy options
One in three of us eat more meals by ourselves than we do with other people, a new study revealed today。
But before you digest that somewhat depressing statistic, there is some good news - kind of - a lot of us are perfectly happy to eat alone because the computer and TV provide us with solitary entertainment。
Perhaps unsurprisingly, half of the UK's bachelors eat a meal alone at least once a day. And even one in four mothers with families have dinner mostly by themselves according to a major report on eating trends and social change by the Future Foundation. However, eating alone doesn't seem to matter anymore if you can chat away on social networks - in fact it's now both a quick and entertaining affair。
'Suppertainment' is the phrase being coined for the current major trend that reflects the number of people who eat in front of the computer, TV or games console。
Single men are the majority leading this trend, with 60 percent of them spending meal times pluggedinto something。
However, 40 percent of mothers and 30 percent of students also eat meals whilst being on the PC or laptop several times a week。
Boyd Hilton, TV and reviews editor of Heat Magazine says: 'Setting yourself up in front of the TV to "Suppertain" comes naturally, especially when you've been on the goall day。
'If I'm on my own I always tend to make a quick and easy meal and settle down to watch something entertaining or I'll get on the laptop and catch up with comedies like the new season of Curb Your Enthusiasmon More 4 or Outnumberedon BBC1.
'I think it's such a bonusthat healthy, tasty convenience meals now mean you can relax about eating good food without having to worry about preparation time.'
今日發布的一項新研究揭露，1/3的英國人自己一個人吃飯的次數比和別人一起吃飯的次數更多。
不過在你回味這一讓人有些抑郁的統計數值時，也有一些好消息，就是許多英國人都很愿意獨自進餐，因為電腦和電視讓我們可以自娛自樂。
英國半數單身漢每天至少獨自吃一頓飯，這也許并不讓人驚訝。不過根據未來基金會的一項有關飲食趨勢和社會變化的大型調查的報告，就連有家庭的媽媽們也有1/4的人大多數時間是一個人進餐。
不過，獨自進餐似乎不再是件頭疼事，如果你在社交網絡上聊天的話，現在獨自進餐事實上是一件既便捷又有趣的事。
“娛樂進餐時”就是為了反映目前在電腦、電視或游戲機前進餐的人群數量增多的這一主潮流而造出的新詞。
單身男性是領導這一潮流的主力軍，60%的單身男性都是在電腦或電視前吃飯。
此外，40%的媽媽們和30%的學生每周也有數次在臺式或筆記本電腦前吃飯。
《Heat》雜志的電視劇和評論編輯波伊得 希爾頓說：“坐在電視機前，‘娛樂進餐時’很自然地就開始了，特別是在你已經忙了一整天后。”
“如果只有我一個人的話，我一般會快速簡單地做頓飯，然后坐下來看一些有趣的節目，或是打開筆記本電腦，看一些喜劇，如More 4頻道新一季的《抑制熱情》，或BBC1頻道的《子女鬧翻天》。
“我認為現在享用健康、美味、方便的一餐意味著你可以在輕松享受好食物的同時不用為做飯時間煩惱，這真是一個額外的好處。”
Vocabulary:
games console:攜帶型電腦游戲
plug:接通電源
on the go:忙個不停
bonus:額外的好處
