Synchrony and homogenization in the food temporal patterns in the United Kingdom and Spain Cecilia Diaz-Mendez and Isabel Garcia Espejo University of Oviedo Lisboa, 2012

AIMS The eating habits are homogeneous or divergent in current societies Compare two societies: British and Spanish Study the eating habits through the time dedicated to food matters How people organize the time spent on eating

SOURCES UNITED KINGDOW British Time Use Survey (2000, 2003) Expenditure Food Survey (2001) Living Cost and Food Survey (2008) SPAIN Encuesta de Uso del Tiempo (2002/3) Encuesta Basica de Presupuestos Familiares (1980,1991) Encuesta de Presupuestos Familiares (2001,2008)

General comparison in food expenditure AT HOME Spain 14,5% eating at home UK 13% eating at home % decrease progressively Decreasing difference between countries Evolution of the percentage food expenditure at home in the UK and Spain ( )

General comparison in food expenditure OUTSIDE HOME Evolution of the percentage food expenditure outside home in the UK and Spain ( ) Spain spends 9% eating out UK spends 6% eating out % increase in both countries More homogeneous spending habits

EATING TIME. The timetable of main intakes Population percentage (16-65) eating through the day (at home and outside ) Unequal timetable. Synchronic only in the morning. UK. Important meals in the day (breakfast, lunch and dinner) SP. Two meals concentrated (lunch and dinner) Eating outside, similar Differences between countries specially in eating at home Eating at home UK Eating out UK Eating at home Spain Eating out Spain

EATING TIME. Time devoted to eating Total time spent eating UK spent 83 minutes SP spent 106 minutes Difference in the main meals at home Smaller difference in eating outside  UK 25 minutes eating outside  SP 24 minutes eating outside

General comparison in time spent eating Total minutes spent eating as main activity UK Total minutes spent eating as main activity Spain

Time spent eating by different variables Gender. Women devote more time to eating at home and men spend more on eating outside, in both countries Age. Eating time increases with age, in both countries Education. People with higher education spend more time eating outside. Those with lower level spend more time eating at home, in both countries Work. Group taking less part in the labor market spend more time eating at home (unemployed, housewives and retired). Full time workers and students spend more time eating outside. Relevant differences in both countries

Minutes spent eating AT HOME and OUTSIDE HOME as main activity in UK and SP (Labour situation)(16-65)

Time cooking Average time cooking  UK 39 min  SP 48 min Time devoted to cooking (people to cook)  UK 55 min  SP 74 min

Conclusions According to time spent and collective effort to synchronize main meals, food it is more important in Spain In both societies the eating norm shared by their members reproduces cultural aspects.  Mono-centrality of the British. A simple period of time in the day that gather them around a meal lasting a certain time, which usually is dinner  Bi-centrality of Spaniards. The norm is to have two long and heavy meals in the day with greater weight given to home meals Eating outside differentiates the British and the Spaniards  For British eating outside is related to work, and has less value than eating at home  For Spaniards eat outside has the same value as eating at home The socio-demographic variables acting on eating behaviors do so in different structural backgrounds