Aussies eat dinner away from the dining table.
Aussies are increasingly leaving the dining room table to eat alone in front of the TV or in their bedrooms, leading furniture giant Ikea to announce dining rooms may soon be gone.
Ikea has also reported a significant increase in Gen Z Aussies eating their food in bed, which trending health experts have pointed out may attract insects, cause digestive problems and lead to overeating.
There was also a gender divide: those most likely to eat alone in front of the TV were women.
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The study was based on Ikea surveys in 31 countries that measure how eating habits across countries compare.
Australian families have been shown to be changing the way they eat at home at a faster rate than other countries.
![Dirty feet of a sleeping person showing themselves on the blanket](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 1280 720"%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Eating contaminated food in bed can cause hygiene problems.
A Swedish newspaper reported that almost half of Australian families now eat at the table, while informal eating was on the rise.
It led to speculation that the dining room as we know it today may be dead.
Ikea’s head of home furnishings Ainslie Woodham said Aussies have “rewritten” the dinner rule book, especially compared to dining trends from Europe and around the world.
“Comfort and convenience are more important to us than strict rules,” he said.
“After a long day it can feel easy to relax in your place … as long as you are comfortable and enjoy your food, where you eat is not a problem, even if it is in bed.”
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Ikea has seen a shift to informal eating, with 30 per cent of Aussies choosing to eat on the sofa and 4 per cent eating their meals in bed. About 8 percent of Gen Z respondents ate in bed.
Aussies were more likely to eat on the sofa compared to the global average of 18 per cent, and much less likely to sit at the kitchen or dining table than the global average of 44.4 per cent.
Australians were also among the most likely people in the world to eat alone in front of the TV, with a staggering 64.4 per cent of people practicing the habit.
This move away from the table coincides with Aussies prioritizing speed and comfort in the kitchen.
The dining table is losing its place as the center of family life.
Aussies also reported higher rates of cooking food in microwaves and air fryers than other countries.
Almost half of respondents cook their food in microwaves compared to 34.6 percent globally. Air fryers are used by 41 per cent of Aussies compared to 31.2 per cent globally.
The widespread use of fast machines supports a culture of speed: Aussies eat earlier and faster than many other countries, the study showed.
Ikea noted that these changes were changing the way we design our homes.
Ikea dining range manager Josh Cooling said the way Australians used furniture was different and the dining table was no longer the anchor of the home.
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With the growth of its rooms where many families eat a lot.
Dining tables were instead used for purposes other than food, Mr Cooling said.
He pointed out that the majority of families (70 percent) now use tables to do activities that are not related to food.
This has seen dining tables transformed into places for work, homework, creative hobbies and entertainment.
Ms Woodham added: “Australia’s love of open plan living has a huge impact on how our concept of ‘restaurants’ has evolved.
“Rather than sticking to one organized place, food often moves between different parts of the home depending on convenience, the weather, or who’s around.
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Ainslie Woodham, Ikea Home Furnishing Manager, said Aussies were repurposing dining tables for other uses.
“This is particularly clear in the way indoor and outdoor spaces come together, for example, many Aussies choose to eat in courtyards, on balconies, or near open doors during the warmer months.
“Daily life and entertaining flow naturally into every part of the home, the dining area is treated as something that can happen anywhere, not just at the table in the designated room.”
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