Few Americans Eat Three Balanced Meals a Day

Americans don't have the best eating habits. Only 18-percent of the respondents in a new Vitamin Shoppe survey say they have three balanced meals every day of the week, while most people only average three square meals a day four days a week.

Fifteen-percent say they never eat three nutritious meals in a day. Time issues seem to pose the biggest obstacles to healthy eating. Just under 40-percent say it takes too long to prepare healthy, nutritious meals. Nearly 30-percent blame their jobs for keeping them out of the kitchen, while 18-percent say "family obligations" make it difficult for them to follow a healthy diet. Ten-percent admit they "don't know how to eat healthy." More than a third admit they've gone at least a week without eating a single fresh vegetable, and three-percent confess they "cannot remember" the last time they had a fresh vegetable.

However, 90-percent believe they usually get all the nutrients they need from the foods they eat. In addition, 64-percent take vitamins at least once a week.