More Americans now eat in their cars than ever before as expert reveals what it says about modern life

For many Americans, eating meals in the car is a regular part of life.

In a recent survey, 53% of respondents reported that they eat in their car at least once a week. The average American does so about three times a week, according to the study, which was conducted by research firm OnePoll on behalf of St. Pierre, a Texas-based bakery.

Many surveyed said they eat in the car because they're short on time (38%). Other reasons respondents gave for eating in their vehicle included convenience (35%), because "it's peaceful" (32%) and "to eat alone" (26%).

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Most people (53%) still prefer eating at a table at home, and 34% said they enjoy eating in the car. Lunch is the most popular meal people eat in their cars, according to the study.

Eating in the car is "a habit shaped by busy schedules, but also by the small windows of time people create to pause and enjoy something to eat, wherever they are," according to the study.

But Pennsylvania psychologist Geri-Lynn Utter told Fox News Digital that the trend reflects more than convenience.

"Traditionally, meals occurred in spaces associated with family, social connection and intentional breaks in the day," she told Fox News Digital.

"Increasingly, however, the car has become a kind of psychological refuge, one of the few places where many people can be alone, decompress and step away from the constant demands of work, caregiving, technology and what I jokingly call 'peopling.'"

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The survey, which polled 2,000 adults in June, found those habits varied significantly by generation.

Gen Z (born after 1996) averaged 3.83 meals in the car per week. Pizza (20%), sandwiches/wraps (19%) and burgers and fruit (17%) were the most popular foods that Gen Z reported eating in the car.

Twenty-six percent of Gen Z said eating in the car is the only time they get to enjoy their food, according to the poll.

Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) reported eating 3.22 meals in the car each week on average. They most often ate sandwiches/wraps (26%), burgers (25%) and pizza (21%). Fifty percent said they enjoyed eating in their car.

Gen X (born between 1965 and 1980) averaged 1.88 meals per week in the car, favoring sandwiches/wraps (27%), burgers (26%) and pizza, fruit and chocolate (11%) as their go-to foods.

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Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) averaged 0.84 meals in the car each week. They most often ate burgers (29%), sandwiches/wraps (24%) and fruit (10%), and many (44%) said they prefer foods they can eat with one hand.

The Silent Generation (born between 1928 and 1945) averaged 0.63 meals in the car each week. Members of the generation most often ate burgers, sandwiches/wraps (26%), fruit, nuts, seeds and pastries (13%) and ice cream (9%).

When eaten alone in the car, food becomes more than fuel, Utter said. The car has become "the modern break room" where people temporarily escape from life's stress.

"The food is the reward, but the solitude is the luxury," she said.

Food influencers often eat in their cars, Utter noted, "despite having access to virtually any setting they could use."

"The car feels private, authentic and free from social expectations," she said. "For a few minutes, there is no meeting, no email and no obligation to perform for others. The meal becomes an experience that belongs entirely to the individual."

The survey says less about Americans' relationship with food and more about their relationship with time, stress and recovery, Utter said.

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"Many people aren't choosing to eat in their cars because they prefer it over a dining room table," she said. "They're adapting to increasingly packed schedules, long commutes, caregiving responsibilities and jobs that blur the boundaries between work and personal life."

It also raises the question, Utter said, "If so many people feel that the best place to slow down and enjoy a meal is alone in a car, what does that say about how stretched thin we've become?"