Busy families are eating dinner later thanks to longer working days and more after-school activities

Dining time is now typically 6.30pm, compared with 5.30pm in 1961.

Longer office hours, commuting and after-school activities have all made our working days longer, according to research published today by Kelloggs.

But 82 per cent of parents still make sure their evening meals are spent with their children, even if it means skipping a meeting at work or cancelling seeing friends.

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In Scotland this increases to 92 per cent while in the South of England it drops slightly to 80 per cent.

The report, Food Habits and Social Change, says parents see eating a meal with their children as a "symbol of family happiness".

It adds: "There is an informality and a warmth about this sort of eating that enhances the ritual of family taking dinners together."

The study of 1,000 Britons also found 44 per cent of families eat breakfast together.

It found that from Monday to Thursday we tend to prefer ready meals over homemade dishes.

But come the weekend, we are becoming more keen to reach for the cookbook. The report says that cooking is seen as a pleasure and not as a necessity

Forty-three per cent said they use cookery books and go through magazines for ideas - up from 25 per cent in 2003.

And 39 per cent use recipes to make their meals, compared with 27 per cent four years ago.

Men are almost as eager to cook as women, according the report.

Fifty-eight per cent said they cooked a meal at least three times a week, compared with 68 per cent of women.

But the study also showed we are eating out more.

In 2003, only 40 per cent of Britons ate in a restaurant once a month. This has now risen to 50 per cent.