Less than half of families eat together at mealtimes, new research has found.

Research by Readly, a digital magazine and newspaper app, found that only 43 per cent of families sit down and eat together, with a third of people eating their daily meals on the sofa.

The research also found that dinner is the most popular meal to eat together, with 85 per cent of people saying they sit down together for the meal.

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However, only seven per cent sit together for breakfast and lunch.

The research also found that most people (37 per cent) spend 20 to 29 minutes eating together, although almost one in 10 (eight per cent) spend 45 minutes to one hour eating together and 29 per cent spend less than 20 minutes.

The research found that 39 per cent of people eat together because they believe it is a good way to spend quality time together.

Chris Crouchman, head of content at the magazine, said: "With busy lives, office days, working from home patterns, extracurricular activities, and clubs, there is limited time to sit down together as a family, but it's great to see that dinnertime is a moment people are able to connect about their day and topics affecting their lives.

"It’s interesting to see that hobbies and interests, the news, and work are the top discussion themes; however, travel and problems also feature highly.

"Apps like Readly are a great source of inspiration for mealtime conversation with all the latest news and magazine categories; there are endless topics to fuel good chat."