Family Meals—Are they Important? By Mary Story, PhD, RD – April 2004

(Mary Story PhD, RD, Professor, Division of Epidemiology and Associate Dean of Student Affairs, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota)

Family meals have been a time-honored ritual and an important part of American culture. The sharing of food at meals has been a symbol of family unity, love, connections and communication. Families have undergone profound social changes in family structure, maternal employment, and stress due to hectic schedules balancing work, family and children’s activities. Concern has been expressed that the family meal ritual is disappearing. Current findings on family meals are summarized below.

  • It is commonly believed that the family meal is becoming less important to the American family. However, surveys indicate that more than 80% of parents view family dinners as important (1). Adolescents also value family meals. A national survey found that 79% of teens cited eating dinner at home as one of their top rated family activities (1).

  • While sharing family meals together may be valued among parents and youth, this can be difficult to achieve on a regular basis. Studies show that about 1/3 of adolescents eat dinner with their family every day (2,3). About 60% of teens have dinner with their family at least five times a week (4). About 22-32% of teens report eating dinner with their family rarely or a few days each week (2,3).

  • Family meals decline throughout adolescence. Students in middle school and junior high school eat more family meals together (mean 5.7) than students in high school (mean 3.5) (2).

  • The major reasons cited by adolescents for not having family meals include parent and teen schedules, desire for autonomy, poor family relations, and food dislikes. (5). Busy or conflicting schedules of parents and adolescents were the most frequently mentioned reason. Work schedules of parents and teen activities such as work, sports, extracurricular school activities or socializing with friends are commonly mentioned (5). The majority of adolescents said they would eat more healthful foods if they ate more often with their parents.

  • Recent studies have found a positive association between frequency of family dinners and dietary quality in adolescents (3, 6, 7). Frequency of family meals is associated with greater intakes of fruits and vegetables, milk, less fried food and soft drinks, and higher nutrient intakes including calcium, iron, vitamins, fiber and less saturated and trans fat, intakes.

  • Studies have also shown a correlation between frequent family dinners and reduced risk that a teen will smoke, drink or use illegal drugs. For example, teens who have dinner with their families two nights a week or less are at twice the risk of substance abuse as teens who have frequent family dinners (1.54 vs. .78) (4).

In summary, the frequency of family meals is associated with more positive dietary intakes and healthy behaviors among adolescents. Family meals can also facilitate family interaction, communication and a sense of unity. Because of the multiple benefits of eating meals together as a family, health professionals working with youth and families should promote the importance of family meals. Increasing the frequency of family meals potentially could be a promising intervention for improving adolescent nutrition and health outcomes.

References

  1. Zollo P. Wise Up To Teens: Insights into Marketing and Advertising to Teenagers. 2nd ed. Ithaca, NY New Strategist Publications, 1999
  2. Neumark-Sztainer D, Story M, Ackard D, et al. Family meals among adolescents: Findings from a pilot study. J Nutr Educ 2000;32:335-40.
  3. Gillman MW, Rifas-Shiman SL, Frazier AL, et al. Family dinner and diet quality among older children and adolescents. Arch Family Med 2000;9:235-40.
  4. National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse. The importance of family dinners. September 2003, Columbia University, New York.
  5. Neumark-Sztainer D, Story M, Ackard D, et al. The "family meal": Views of adolescents. J Nutr Educ 2000;32:329-34.
  6. Neumark-Sztainer D, Hannan PJ, Story M, et al. Family meal patterns: Associations with sociodemographic characteristics and improved dietary intake among adolescents. J Am Diet Assoc 2003;103:317-22.
  7. Videon TM, and Manning CK Influences on adolescent eating patterns; The importance of family meals. 32:365-373.2003