Most Dutch turn TV off, put phone away for dinner

The average Joe in the Netherlands eats dinner at the table, usually a home cooked meal, and does not watch television or use their phone during dinner time, according to a study by the Nutrition Center, AD reports.

The Nutrition Center questioned a thousand people in the Netherlands about their eating habits. 52 percent said they talk with a partner or family members during dinner, a quarter said they watch TV, and 2 percent said they check social media. Around 20 percent said they have dinner with no distractions at all.

23 percent of respondents said they now spend more time on evening meals than they did five years ago. 17 percent said the same about lunch and 19 percent about breakfast. 60 percent said they "often eat with a lot of attention".

The Nutrition Center calls this a positive development. "Many things are going very well", nutrition expert Astrid Postma-Smeets said to AD. "It is positive that people want to take time for their food and also do so. Eating with attention ensures that you know better when you have eaten enough. The chance that you will eat more than you actually need is smaller."