The results of the survey also showed that people in the South West and Wales currently take the shortest average lunch break and those in Scotland and Northern Ireland the longest.
BSA director Jim Winship explains: "Whilst UK employment legislation means employees are entitled to a minimum of a 20 minutes break if they are working for six hours or more it would seem that people are simply not making the most of the time.
"We want to use this year's British Sandwich Week to remind people about the benefits of taking time away from their place of work, grabbing a nutritious lunch and, weather willing, enjoying some fresh air."
To encourage consumers to take time for lunch, the British Sandwich Association has teamed up with sandwich retailers across the UK to give away 1,000 ‘free lunches' on its www.lovesarnies.com website during May as part of its ‘Love Lunch' campaign.
British Sandwich Week takes place May 12- 18 this year and will include a host of activities including the final of the Sandwich Designer of the Year and World Record Sandwich attempt.