Want to Fight Childhood Obesity? Stop Having Dysfunctional Family Meals

Can you remember the last time your family sat down to eat a nice, no-stress dinner together? Even if you are one of the 59% of families who report getting together for dinner at least five times a week, it’s likely that dinner has become a time to talk about family problems, or to nag about homework, or even a time to not really be mentally present at all, thanks to technology.

If that sounds like your family, then you’re not doing your children any favors. A new study by researchers at the University of Minnesota found that children seem to be less likely to become overweight if they’re used to pleasant, positive family dinners.

“In the households where kids were overweight, there was less of a positive atmosphere at the table,” study author and psychologist Jerica Berge explained in an interview with HealthDay News. “It was a little more chaotic overall.”

The researchers studied 120 families, and asked them to use iPads to record their family meals. While looking over footage, researchers took into account family dynamics and the weight of the children. What they discovered was that children who were in the healthy weight range tended to have encouraging conversations with their parents and siblings, and everyone seemed to enjoy each others’ company during mealtime. Kids who were overweight, on the contrary, had shorter meals and tended to eat them in rooms other than the dining room or kitchen. When overweight or obese children did eat with their families, the conversation trended towards the negative.

But even though the thought of carving out the time for family meals in our already busy schedules might make some people groan, it’s not that big of an increase that makes the difference. Overweight children were found to average 13.5 minutes per meal, while normal weight children averaged 18.2 minutes per meal.

“When we looked at the logistics around the family meals, they are more doable than most people think,” Berge added in the HeathDay News interview. “They don’t have to be that long to have a positive effect, and they can be any time of the day — breakfast, lunch or dinner.”

It’s not just weight that’s been linked to family meals, either. Adolescents have been found to experience better mental health, emotional health, and general life satisfaction the more meals they shared with their families. Some sociologists also posit that eating a family meal is an important socialization tool, teaching children about politeness, appreciation, listening, compromise, conversational skills, and conflict resolution.

Of course, trying to create a positive atmosphere at home during dinner or lunch or breakfast-time doesn’t necessarily ensure that your child won’t be making bad life choices down the road, but if you make the effort, then at least you won’t have to spend the rest of your life wondering if it’s your fault that little Betsy or Junior became a pot-smoking hooligan. So, you know, there’s that.

[Pic via Flickr - U.S. Department of Agriculture]