How Many Breakfasts Do You Eat?

How many breakfasts did you eat today? This may sound like a ridiculous question, but Americans are increasingly consuming several morning meals as opposed to sitting down for one big one, The Associated Press reports.


But it's not like people are enjoying bacon and eggs two or three times a day. "It's breakfast in stages," Liz Sloan, president of Sloan Trends, a food industry consulting group, told the AP. "They'll eat something at home, then stop at Starbucks or a convenience store for coffee and maybe a little snack."

We've been there. When we eat breakfast as soon as we wake up, our stomach is usually growling by around 10:30 a.m., leading us to crave a granola bar or something sweet. And we're not alone -- the number of times Americans snack is expected to rise faster in the morning than during the afternoon or evening, according to the market researcher The NPD Group, the AP says.

So, is this an excuse to start eating four meals a day -- or more? Not so fast. While some health experts recommend eating more, smaller meals rather than fewer, bigger ones, David Levitsky, a professor of nutrition and psychology at Cornell University, says this often packs on calories. "If you reduce everything, that's fine. But that's not what we do," Levitsky tells the AP. "When you add in snacks, you're usually just adding calories."