Say goodbye to three meals a day.

• Position: Changes in eating habits

Three meals a day used to be the standard eating pattern for Americans, but the rule likely will be five meals per day soon, according to Christopher Wolf, publisher of The Food Channel. The traditional three-square-meals-a-day regimen already is going by the wayside, he told the World Future Society. Many people skip breakfast or even lunch, catching snacks here and there to survive. One survey showed that 10% of Americans eat lunch in their cars on a regular basis.

Rather than taking time to sit down and eat a balanced meal, they spread their meals through the day, having a doughnut or bagel at midmorning and chips, fruit, or a candy bar in the afternoon. This new pattern--variously termed "grazing," "mouth surfing," or "refueling"--is evolving as a result of dual-income, fast-paced lifestyles.

"In the future, this grazing phenomenon will be formalized into a recognized pattern of five meals a day. Not only does |five a day' better fit our living habits, but scientific studies show that an increased number of smaller meals is actually healthier for people."

Wolf offers a meal schedule for the year 2005, complete with some suggested new names for meals: 7:00-7:30 a.m., Daystart (breakfast)...