British people treat themselves to a meal out 365.2 times a year, according to new research.

On average Britons enjoy breakfast, lunch or dinner out once each day, every day of the year, figures from market analysts Datamonitor reveal.

A lack of time to prepare or cook food is cited as the most common reason for Brits to chose a restaurant or café for our core meal of the day.

However, the habit costs us £1,224 a year, beaten only by food-loving Italians at £1,265 a year.

Datamonitor predicts that a staggering 5.2 billon extra core meals and snacks will be eaten outside home in UK by 2010.

Matthew Adams, consumer markets analyst for Datamonitor, said: "Eating habits are evolving to meet the pace and structure of daily life.

"Consumers are responding to nutritional needs and the demands of daily life by missing meals, changing the times at which they eat and even changing the type of products they eat at each occasion."