 Family meals are a challenge given the busy schedules of teens and their parents, but they do occur and they are beneficial. Project EAT-I found that younger students (in middle school) ate with their families an average of 5.4 times per week and older students (in high school) an average of 3.9 times per week.
Teens eating regular family meals had higher fruit, vegetable, and calcium intakes then their peers not reporting regular family meals, and they drank significantly fewer soft drinks.
Major reasons for not having family meals included parent and teen schedules, teens desire for autonomy, dissatisfaction with family relationships, and dislike of foods served at family meals. Most teens thought they probably would eat more healthfully if they ate more meals with their families.
Results from Project EAT-II showed that young people who were having more family meals during high school had better nutrition in their early years of adulthood. Specifically, having more family meals during the teen years was related to higher daily intakes of fruit, vegetables, calcium, and other important nutrients in early young adulthood and to lower intake of soft drinks.
In addition to these nutritional benefits, family meals were also related to higher academic performance, greater psychosocial well-being and a reduced risk of using unhealthy weight control behaviors.
Please also see our publications on family meals... |
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Project EAT: Results from EAT I
