The average American couple spends 132 hours a year deciding what to eat, new data reveals.
The question “What should we eat?” can be a daunting one for every couple looking to satisfy their appetite.
And a new survey of 2,000 people in committed relationships shows 37 percent of couples regularly have a hard time agreeing on where to eat and just a few (13 percent) saying this isn’t a problem.
The dreaded question “What do you want to eat?” is asked 365 times a year (6.67 times a week for the average couple) — resulting in 2 hours and 32 minutes a week of negotiating on what type of meal to eat.
A unified 11 percent say they never disagree on what type of food to have or when. But for the majority of survey takers, things don’t always work out so smoothly.
When they can’t come to an agreement, men are more likely to settle for whatever their partner wants, according to results.
Dinner proves to be the most controversial meal time as 46 percent of survey respondents say that’s the meal they debate about the most.
The study by Seated — the restaurant discovery mobile app that gives you credit at Uber, Amazon or Starbucks every time you try a new restaurant on the platform — examined the thought processes and approaches to eating out and the decision-making process around how Americans narrow down where and what to eat.
Nearly a quarter (24 percent) of those studied said they regularly find themselves trapped in some sort of food purgatory as their partner seemingly takes forever to decide what they want.
And deciding on a meal is not the end of the food fight. About a third (31 percent) say their partner frequently claims not to be hungry, then takes food from their plate.
That may seem like no problem to most, but an irritated 18 percent are annoyed about sharing food with their partner.
The average couple goes out to eat four times a month and tries a new restaurant at least once a month.
“Deciding what to eat is more painstaking than it should be,” said Emily Law, creative director at Seated. “As the results of the survey show, people tend to deal with unnecessary battles by just trying to come to terms with what type of food to eat.”
Most (69 percent) don’t like to keep going to the same familiar restaurant and are regularly interested in trying new places and different types of food.
But great new discoveries are not always easy to come by, as 61 percent find it difficult to discover new restaurants.
When looking for a good restaurant, 82 percent say they frequently try to avoid crowds by going out at a less popular time.
“The results also show that the majority of survey takers want to try out new places, but often find it difficult to discover new eateries,” Emily added. ”That’s why Seated helps users by narrowing the selection to only vetted, well-regarded restaurants and not only that, gives you serious rewards when you try them.”
“Our hope is to shorten the decision process on what to eat, and get people dining out and trying new restaurants.”