Why do Americans eat dinner so early in the evening?
816298
It is just a cultural thing. Americans often go to bed at 10 or 10:30 and eating so soon before bed time can speed up weight gain.\n\nWe usually only have three meals, one at roughly 7am, one at 12, and one at roughly 6:30. six hours is a long time to wait for food!
330575
Because it is dark in the night. Our ancestors could not do anything but sleep when dark. And I think it remained in genes of the most, the custom. Nocturnal creations being the exception.
480411
Eating within an hour of waking up speads up your metabolism and gives you more energy for the day. It is better to eat something healthy but you are suppose to eat something.
517289
We bring our own ingredients and toss it in the sink. Romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes and coarsely grated parmesan. Served on wet paper towels.\n\nSadly, Americans tend to indulge in salad fights.
279286
From my experience, most people don't work this shift any more due to new lunch rituals. In the past, many employers had people work from 9 to 5 with a paid half-hour lunch. I get the impression that with the increased pace of the average American lifestyle, more and more people request one hour lunches in order to run errands and take time for themselves. This results in a new nine hour day, the most common times being 8 to 5 with an hour lunch at 12 noon. Of course, this is all just my own speculation.
1034818
There is no percentage concerning this question.  People who want to have sex are going to have sex anyway, and the people who are not, are not.  We will never know who is wiiling to go into something so deep so quickly, b/c we are not everybody to know the answer to that question.  Are you willing to have sex after the first dinner of getting to know someone?
930292
Yes, we also have way too much food. But, every year, I make each member of my families favorite food. We eat and visit and eat some more. Then , every year on Thanksgiving evening, we go to the movies.Dont know why, but, we just do. Every single year
318118
Probly Early morning or late after noon. That way there is sunlight (plants need it you know) and its not extreamly hot or cold.
786035
For the majority yes - I think its got a lot to do with laziness, the majority or people are too lazy to come home and cook a meal - its easier to just buy something trashy.  And of course the more you do this the less healthy it is.  If you go to other countries you can see the difference, the french for example savour their food and yes they drink wine and eat cheese and bread - all carbs, but they eat them slowly and its not over processed like potato chips.
593725
Kids are whiners at the dinner table.\n\nI should know, I'm a waiter. Usually they have to get their food first, fastest, even if the adults haven't eaten.\n\nAlso, on the other side, older people don't eat at all. They never order dessert. They only want to eat cheap sandwiches or soups or small salada. I can wait on a party of 50 old people, tack on 20% to their bill, and still make only 2 bucks when they hobble out.
819370
Russians eat breakfast between 7 and 8 a.m., lunch from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Most people finish work at 6:00 p.m. and have a late afternoon snack. Supper is usually served around 7:00 p.m. or as late as 8:30 p.m.
126347
Before sunrise and after sunset you are allowed to eat.
876905
because some people actually like to eat
856936
Not necessarily. The myth the eating after about 6 or 7 p.m. will make you gain weight is simply that; a myth. Your body still needs some energy while you sleep and will use that extra energy (from the food you ate) in the morning. \n\nNow, if you are eating extremely large quantites of unhealthy food, sure, you'll gain weight. But you can do that at any point in the day and still gain weight.
346792
The simple answer is that we eat more and move less.  But why is that happening?\nAs someone else suggested, Fast Food Nation gives a wonderful profile on the rise of fast food in American and what changes have taken place at the same time that the author attributes to the fast food industry.\nBasically, in America, we have lots of food available and it's not very expensive.  Restaurants make it easy to super size--even non-fast food restaurants often offer a larger portion (like 16 oz steak rather than 10 or 12 oz steak) for only a small amount more.  Portion sizes in restaurants are much larger than they were 30 years ago.  Soda is the drink of choice--with 10 calories per sip, a couple of glasses have as much calories as a piece of cake (and the refills are FREE). And then we eat the cake too.  Schools now offer soda and junk food in vending machines in order to get promotional money from the companies placing the machines.  Physical education in schools has been scaled way back.\nBecause of the fear-based society we live in, mothers don't want their children playing outside where they can be snatched by child molesters so they stay inside and watch TV and play video games and eat junk food and learn to be inactive.  Kids don't walk to school anymore; they are driven both ways.  Buses stop at each driveway because kids don't/can't/won't walk to a central pick-up location.  When you are an inactive child, you grow up to be an inactive adult (spoken by one who knows).\nEverything has a drive-through--pharmacies, banks, restaurants (or they carry your food out to the car so you don't even have to walk to the door and back).  No one walks anywhere except those few people who walk for pleasure and exercise.\nPeople don't even walk their dogs anymore. They fence in the yard and let the animals run around.\nI could keep going, but you get the gist.
225430
It's messing up your metabolism.  Your body needs its nutrients at specific times because it's still growing.  If you eat at odd times that are spaced out your body won't know how to adjust its metabolism to what's appropriate for you.
859892
we eat at 3pm,that way we can decorate and have dessert in early evening if anyone gets hungry lots of left overs to warm up.