Breakfast choices frequently reflect utilitarian needs; foods at breakfast are typically simple, quick and easy to prepare and eat, and valued for the calorie boost that revives the body and brain after a night's rest. And when people find a breakfast option they like, they generally stick with it, day after day, scientists have found.
When researchers recently evaluated the daily eating habits in thousands of U.S. and French study subjects, they saw that people repeatedly ate the same thing for breakfast — and were happy to do so. By comparison, when those people sat down to lunch or dinner, they expected greater variety and wanted a more pleasurable experience from their meals.
Why were so many of those people satisfied with eating the same breakfast every morning? The scientists suggested that psychological, biological and cultural drivers shape our expectations for meals, and those factors — and our enthusiasm for eating — differ depending on the time of day.