Children Who Eat Frequent Family Meals Tend to be More Physically Active, Have Healthier Diets, Watch Less TV

Wilmington, Delaware
Monday, May 22, 2006 @ 12:00 AM EDT

More than a third of Delaware parents report having family meals every night of the week.

According to Delaware parents of school-aged children, two-thirds (66%) have sit-down family meals together at least five nights during a typical week and more than a third (37%) say they eat dinner together every night of the week. A quarter (24%) have a family meal three or four times a week, and one in ten say they eat a family dinner two nights a week or less, reveals a new poll conducted for Nemours Health and Prevention Services (NHPS). The likelihood of families having meals together varies little based on demographic characteristics.

The survey shows positive correlation between family meals and some other healthy habits. Fifty-one percent of parents of children who eat family meals at least five nights a week, say their kids eat “mostly nutritious, healthy foods,” compared with 36% of those who eat family meals three to four nights a week and just over a quarter (26%) who manage to eat together twice a week or less. Those children who eat family meals five nights a week or more also appear to consume less fast food than other children do.

“These are important findings for Delaware families, “ said Debbie I. Chang, Senior Vice President and Executive Director, NHPS. “Families who eat together often are protecting their children in important ways. We know there is a direct relationship between healthy eating and healthy weight as well as a comparable correlation between childhood obesity and poor eating habits.”

Family Meals and Nutrition

The poll was conducted to shed light on parents’ perceptions of childhood overweight and the behaviors that contribute to the problem. Completed in January 2006 by the polling firm Lake Research Partners, the survey questioned 807 Delaware parents with children under 18 on issues of overweight, fitness, and nutrition among the state’s children, as well as the various policy options to fight obesity in young people.

“The evidence suggests that kids who eat with their families tend to have healthier diets,” said Chang. “Unfortunately, we know that the frequency of family meals has declined over the last few decades and that fewer children eat dinner with their families, especially as they grow to become teens.”

Family Meals and Physical Activity

According to Delaware parents, 60% of children who eat family dinner five times or more a week get what they (the parents) consider an adequate amount of exercise. Only 35% of children who eat family meals two times or less a week get adequate exercise, their parents say. Children who have family dinners more often than their peers are also more likely to be physically active “every day or almost every day.”

Family Meals and Screen Time

There also seems to be a positive association between family meals and less television viewing or “screen time.” In this study, half (51%) of children who eat family dinners five nights a week or more watch an hour or less of television in a typical day, compared with 38% who eat family meals three or four nights a week and less than a quarter (23%) who eat family dinner two times a week or less.

Promoting Family Meals

Nemours asked questions specifically about family meals because a growing body of evidence on a national level shows that kids who eat with their families frequently are not only likely to be healthier but may also be better adjusted emotionally and have better self esteem.

In March 2006, NHPS and the Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association co-presented a seminar for the public, “Family Meals: Setting the Table,” featuring renowned pediatrician and author T. Berry Brazelton, MD. Speaking at Brandywine High School, Dr. Brazelton and others outlined the potential benefits of family meals, including improved academic performance; lower risk-taking behaviors; improved family relationships and emotional health, and improved dietary quality. (See www.familymeals.org.)

Nemours encourages parents to make meal times both routine and enjoyable and offers the following suggestions:

• Turn the television off during meals. Let the answering machine pick up the phone.
• Have everyone play a part in the meal - preparing the food, setting the table, cleaning up.
• Let each child choose what will be served for the family meal once a week (as long as it’s healthy).
• Make time for family breakfasts or brunches once a week or even once a month - as often as you can.
• Refrain from criticism and potentially stressful subjects like grades at mealtime. Do ask questions about what children are learning and doing in school, making an effort to keep the conversation upbeat.
• Don’t make food the focus at mealtime – the focus should be on communication.
• Don’t insist that children clean their plates and don’t use foods as bribes or rewards.
• Promising a treat for eating a vegetable, for example, can cause a child to view the vegetable as a “bad” food that requires a bribe to be eaten.
• Offer nutritious foods, allowing your children to choose from among them.
• When a child refuses to eat certain foods, avoid pressuring her. Offer the food again at a later date. You may need to make several attempts before she will accept new foods
• Avoid being a short order cook. Everyone in the family gets the same meal. If children do not eat what’s on the table, don’t make another meal.
• While kids need to mind their manners at the table, try not to pester. Praise them when they use good manners without being reminded.
• Take just a minute to set a pretty table, complete with tablecloth, even candles. Dinner will feel more like a special occasion.
• Offer dessert as an enjoyable end to the meal rather than as a reward. And remember, fruit is a great way to end the meal.

For copies of the survey and further information, contact:

Karen Bengston
Manager, Communications and Public Relations
Nemours Health and Prevention Services
Phone: 302-444-9108
Fax: (302) 444-9200
Email: kbengsto@nemours.org
or visit: www.Nemours.org/GrowUpHealthy

modified: Monday, January 07, 2008 @ 11:06 AM EST
created: Monday, January 07, 2008 @ 11:06 AM EST

About Nemours

Nemours, one of the nation’s largest pediatric health systems, is dedicated to achieving higher standards in children’s health. Nemours offers an integrated spectrum of clinical treatment coupled with research, advocacy, and educational health and prevention services extending to all families in the communities it serves. Starting with Alfred I. duPont’s bequest over seventy years ago, Nemours has grown into a multi-dimensional organization offering personalized clinical and preventive care focused on children.

Nemours owns and operates the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware and major children’s specialty clinics in Delaware (Wilmington), Florida (Jacksonville, Orlando and Pensacola), Pennsylvania (Philadelphia and Bryn Mawr) and New Jersey (Atlantic City and Voorhees). Having recently received preliminary approval from the State of Florida, Nemours will establish a new full-service children’s hospital as part of an integrated pediatric health campus in Orlando. KidsHealth.org, the world’s most visited pediatric health care Web site for parents, kids and teens, is a project of Nemours.

Nemours employs over 4,400 individuals, including 430 pediatric physicians, specialists and surgeons who cared for approximately a quarter of a million children in 2007. The organization’s goal is to align with parents, physicians, community leaders, children’s advocates and elected officials to ensure optimal wellness for every child. Additional information about Nemours can be found at www.nemours.org.