Family Meals Benefit Teens for Years

Sept. 6, 2007 -- Teens who frequently eat family meals may have healthier eating habits as young adults, nutrition experts report.

What are the specific benefits of family meals for teens? Diet experts at the University of Minnesota came up this list:

• Perk No. 1. Teens who frequently eat meals with their families are more likely than their peers to eat more fruits and vegetables -- and drink fewer sodas -- as young adults.
• Perk No. 2. Teens who often eat family meals are more likely than their peers to make it a priority to eat with family and friends as young adults.
• Perk No. 3. Teen girls who frequently eat family meals are more likely than their peers to eat breakfast as young women.

Those findings are based on 946 Minnesota female teens and 764 male teens who completed surveys about their eating habits in high school and again five years later.

About 42% of the high school students said they ate with their families three to six times per week, and more than 18% said they ate family meals at least seven times per week.

But five years later, even those students didn't have stellar eating habits. They still didn't eat enough fruit, vegetables, whole grains, calcium-rich foods, and certain nutrients (such as calcium, magnesium, and potassium), report Nicole Larson, MPH, RD, and colleagues.

Nevertheless, "food and nutrition professionals should encourage families to share meals as often as possible," Larson's team writes in September's issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

After all, family meals are an opportunity for parents to model healthy eating habits, and the eating habits that kids pick up often spill over into adulthood, note Larson and colleagues.

• For more tips on healthy eating, visit WebMD's Diet & Nutrition message boards.