NEW research reveals that the Great British lunch hour is now a thing of the past, with an amazing one in five UK workers not bothering to take a lunch break. However, workers in the South West are setting an example with 95 per cent ensuring that they take a lunch break.
Nationally, women are more likely to skip lunch than men, with 21 per cent of career girls not eating a midday meal.
Those workers who do take a lunch break now spend an average of just 36 minutes away from their workplace. Now, as work hours get longer, the lunch break has hit an all-time low.
The research, commissioned by NOP2 and Findus Feeling Great!, shows that some regions are better than others at ensuring they take a proper lunch break. The worst offenders work in the Midlands where a worrying one third of workers do not even bother with lunch.
The research also reveals that Britons are not concerned about eating the right foods. A third of women and over half of all men stated that the nutritional content does not influence their choice of lunch - possibly neglecting their health in the process.
Dr Sarah Schenker of the British Nutrition Foundation said: "Lunch is an important meal and people should be encouraged to make sensible choices and eat properly. People who skip meals may miss out on important vitamins and minerals and may be more tempted to snack on foods high in calories but low in essential nutrients."
Surprisingly, in today's hi-tech offices and workplaces, the research reveals that 29 per cent of employees in the South West work somewhere that does not provide suitable facilities for people to bring in and heat their own food.
Dr Sarah Schenker added: "Employers and staff should realise that workers taking time out from their busy schedules to have a nutritious meal at lunchtime - even if it is a quick meal - is time well spent."
The research also discovered that:
57 per cent of working people in the South West agree that there is not enough variety of food choices near their places of work, suggesting that there are only a few food options
93 per cent of South Western workers feel that firms should provide facilities to store and cook their own food
Ten per cent spend more than £5 per day (totalling over £1,300 per year).
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