Why does it seem like some parts of the country eat meals later than others?

[smahala1991]

Like here in the South most people eat dinner around 7:30-8:00 pm. In the Northern states they eat earlier like 5:30. Is there a reason?

[WonderBell99]

Culture, for the most part. 5PM is way too early for dinner for many people because some may have a 9 to 5 job which may not allow them to eat dinner early. They have to
come home, shower and then prepare something.

God_Of_Thunder explained it well. Earlier, many in the South used to be farmers. Eating late at night enabled them to work longer hours when there was still daylight


I'm not American, however, I've started eating dinner at 6pm and I would recommend it to many others because it is healthier to eat dinner early.


Metabolism tends to slow down towards the end of the day. So, if you have the habit of eating late and that too, a heavy dinner, your body may store the excess calories as fat.


Promotes appetite: An early dinner promotes breakfast appetite. Late night diners kill your breakfast appetite which might make you skip the morning meal


Prevents Digestive issues: Late night eating may trigger digestive issues like acidity and acid reflux. Also, we all know the fact that eating and lying down immediately may not go well together as that might induce heart burn

[meetkitty123]

I believe it depends on the culture. My Hispanic culture eats dinner really late somewhere around 7:00 or 8: 00 but then I married an American Italian and he prefer dinner around 4:30/5
I'm in the north when I lived in the south I dont recall much of a difference 5:30/6

[meetkitty123]

Thank you for the MHO 😊

[God_of_Thunder]

I have no concrete evidence, but my best guess would be that it's a holdover from earlier in our history.

Most of the northern part of the country was based on manufacturing, and industry. People would leave work, and go home to eat dinner.

The southern states, on the other hand, would have been more farmland, and working in the fields doesn't let you clock out at 5pm. You work until the sun goes down, and then eat dinner.

I'm pulling this totally put of my ass, and I could be completely wrong, but it seems to me like it could be accurate, lol.

[GoodGuyBreakingBad]

I just think that some people are set in their ways on the times that they eat
I knew a woman from Georgia in the USA and she made one meal at 12:00 noon and that was it if they wanted to eat they would have a snack at dinner, my family knew these people who ate one big meal and this former friend of the family made enough food to feed anyone and sometimes they ate late meals cause her husband was a former truck driver.

[GoodGuyBreakingBad]

Thanks for Most Helpful Guy :)

[Whatthefluff]

I notice that a lot of older people prefer to have dinner in the early evening. Does the south have a younger population?
Could weather be a factor? For half the year in the north it gets basically pitch black by 6pm. Maybe eating after that time "feels" late because of how dark it is outside.

[Lucy68]

Dinner varies to me. Sometimes I eat dinner around 4 pm other times I'm eating dinner around 11 pm at night. When I was away at university dinner I kid you not would have been eaten at 2 am sometimes

[NathanDavis]

that's culture... and it comes from different life styles

not everyone can have dinner at 8pm... if you're still commuting back home from work, right?

[AviatorTom]

I would guess it's because, historically, people in the South worked long days in the fields while their Northern counterparts worked shorter days in the factories.

[Tiptoetamm]

I don't know I was raised to have meals at 530 I thought when I was older I'd have dinner later but nope still around 530 everyday unless Im out

[msc545]

In the North they need to get up for work, and thus go to bed earlier.

[Emilyis]

It's called timezones DUH!

[DaveToo]

Yeah, everything is slower in the south.