In the old days, Thai people ate with their bare hands. And there was no specific time to have meals. When P. Pibulsonggram became the third Prime Minister of Thailand (1938-1944), he launched a campaign to make Thais consume not more than four meals a day. At this time also Thai people started to use a spoon and fork as a tool for eating food. The reasons behind this campaign were to show civilization and to prevent germs existing on the hand from getting into the body.
Nowadays, not only the way of eating, but the choice of food also has changed. Namphrik-plathu, a traditional Thai dish is replaced with salad and soup for some city inhabitants. Moreover, most teenagers prefer chips to Thai desserts because of the value of modernization.