Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Family Meals and Diet Quality

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Diet Quality

Part of the book series: Nutrition and Health ((NH))

Abstract

Nutrition behaviors of children have been known to track into adulthood [1, 2]; thus, it is important to develop healthy eating attitudes/behaviors at a young age. Health promotion professionals have looked for effective/easy/cost-effective strategies to support healthy eating in children and families. A social ecological perspective to health promotion recognizes that individuals can be influenced by their environment, including physical environments (e.g., home), and interpersonal relationships such as those within the family. Encouraging family dinners/meals has recently become a strong public health strategy to promote healthy eating (e.g., British Columbia Dairy Foundation’s Better Together, Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution) and reduce potential unhealthy body weights (e.g., Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care report Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives, 2004, the American Medical Association Expert Committee Recommendations for Childhood Obesity). Interestingly, many countries (e.g., Malaysia, Thailand, Japan) promote family meals in their national food guide recommendations. For example, the Malaysian Nutrition Guide for Early Childhood Care suggests “making mealtimes an enjoyable experience,” and in Japan, “happy eating makes for happy family life; sit down and eat together and talk; treasure family taste and home cooking” is suggested. In North America, most health promotion recommendations include family dinner as a means to increase healthy eating behaviors; however, there is no reason to believe that the benefits of eating the evening meal together would differ from eating other meals (e.g., breakfast, lunch) and/or snacks together. This chapter will examine the associations between family meals and diet quality, including mediating factors and the potential impact on body weight status.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 89.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Nicklas T, Johnson R. Position of the American Dietetic Association: dietary guidance for healthy children ages 2 to 11 years. J Am Diet Assoc. 2004;104:660–77.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Story M, Neumark-Sztainer D, French S. Individual and environmental influences on adolescent eating behaviors. J Am Diet Assoc. 2002;102:S40–51.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Woodruff SJ, Hanning RM. A review of family meal influence on adolescents’ dietary intake. Can J Diet Pract Res. 2008;69:14–22.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Andaya AA, Arredondo EM, Alcaraz JE, et al. The association between family meals, TV viewing during meals, and fruit, vegetables, soda, and chips intake among Latino children. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2011;43:308–15.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Fitzpatrick E, Edmunds LS, Dennison BA. Positive effects of family dinner are undone by television viewing. J Am Diet Assoc. 2007;107:666–71.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Bauer KW, Neumark-Sztainer D, Fulkerson JA, et al. Familial correlates of adolescent girls’ physical activity, television use, dietary intake, weight, and body composition. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2011;8:25.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Fulkerson JA, Kubik MY, Story M, et al. Are there nutritional and other benefits associated with family meals among at-risk youth? J Adolesc Health. 2009;45:389–95.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Gillman MW, Rifas-Shiman SL, Frazier AL, et al. Family dinner and diet quality among older children and adolescents. Arch Fam Med. 2000;9:235–40.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. 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.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Utter J, Scragg R, Schaaf D, et al. Relationships between frequency of family meals, BMI and nutritional aspects of the home food environment among New Zealand adolescents. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2008;5:50–5.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Videon TM, Manning CK. Influences on adolescent eating patterns: the importance of family meals. J Adolesc Health. 2003;32:365–73.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Verzeletti C, Maes L, Santinello M, et al. Soft drink consumption in adolescence: associations with food-related lifestyles and family rules in Belgium Flanders and the Veneto Region of Italy. Eur J Public Health. 2010;20:312–7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Woodruff SJ, Hanning RM. Associations between family dinner frequency and specific food behaviours among grade six, seven, and eight students from Ontario and Nova Scotia. J Adolesc Health. 2009;44:431–6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Welsh EM, French SA, Wall M. Examining the relationship between family meal frequency and individual dietary intake: does family cohesion play a role? J Nutr Educ Behav. 2011;43:229–35.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Woodruff SJ, Fryer K, Cole M, et al. Health and well-being: a baseline study of health-related behaviours in Windsor-Essex County. University of Windsor; 2011 (unpublished). http://www.swontarioinmotion.ca/uploadfiles/HealthandWellbeingStudy.pdf.

  16. Dubois L, Girard M, Bergeron N. The choice of a diet quality indicator to evaluate the nutritional health of populations. Public Health Nutr. 2000;3:357–65.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Veugelers PJ, Fitzgerald AL, Johnston E. Dietary intake and risk factors for poor diet quality among children in Nova Scotia. Can J Public Health. 2005;96:212–6.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Woodruff SJ, Hanning RM, McGoldrick K, et al. Healthy Eating Index-C is positively associated with family dinner frequency among students in grade six, seven, and eight from Southern Ontario, Canada. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2010;64:454–60.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. French SA, Biing-Hwan L, Gurthrie JF. National trends in soft drink consumption among children and adolescents age 6 to 17 years: prevalence, amounts, and sources, 1977/1978 to 1994/1998. J Am Diet Assoc. 2003;103:1326–31.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Johnson RK, Frary C. Choose beverages and foods to moderate your intake of sugars: the 2000 Dietary Guidelines for Americans—what’s all the fuss about? J Nutr. 2001;131:2766S–71.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Larson NI, Neumark-Sztainer D, Hannan PJ, et al. Family meals during adolescence are associated with higher diet quality and healthful meal patterns during young adulthood. J Am Diet Assoc. 2007;107:1502–10.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Pearson N, Atkin AJ, Biddle SJH, et al. Parenting styles, family structure and adolescent dietary behaviour. Public Health Nutr. 2009;13:1245–53.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Cutler GJ, Flood A, Hannan P, et al. Multiple sociodemographic and socioenvironmental characteristics are correlated with major patterns of dietary intake in adolescents. J Am Diet Assoc. 2011;111:230–40.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Burgess-Champoux TL, Larson N, Neumark-Sztainer D, et al. Are family meal patterns associated with overall diet quality during the transition from early to middle adolescence? J Nutr Educ Behav. 2009;41:79–86.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Dietz WH, Strasburger VC. Children, adolescents, and television. Curr Probl Pediatr. 1991;21:8–32.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Marquis M, Filion YP, Dagenais F. Does eating while watching television influence children’s food-related behaviours? Can J Diet Pract Res. 2005;66:12–8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Liang T, Kuhle S, Veugelers PJ. Nutrition and body weights of Canadian children watching television and eating while watching television. Public Health Nutr. 2009;12:2457–63.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. McDaniel SA, Tepperman L. Close relationships. An introduction to the sociology of families. Scarborough: Prentice-Hall; 2000.

    Google Scholar 

  29. Halford JC, Gillespie J, Brown V, et al. Effect of television advertisements for foods on food consumption in children. Appetite. 2004;42:221–5.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Dixon HG, Scully ML, Wakefield MA, White VM, Crawford DA. The effects of television advertisements for junk food versus nutritious food on children’s food attitudes and preferences. Soc Sci Med. 2007;65:1311–23.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Feldman S, Eisenberg ME, Neumark-Sztainer D, et al. Associations between watching TV during family meals and dietary intake among adolescents. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2007;39:257–63.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Woodruff SJ, Hanning RM. Associations between tv watching during meals and diet or physical activity in pre-adolescents [abstract]. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2010;42:S118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Coon KA, Goldberg J, Rogers BL, et al. Relationships between use of television during meals and children’s food consumption patterns. Pediatrics. 2001;107:E7.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Woodruff SJ, Hanning RM. Effect of meal environment on diet quality rating. Can J Diet Pract Res. 2009;70:118–24.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Guthrie JF, Lin BH, Frazao E. Role of food prepared away from home in the American diet, 1977–78 versus 1994–96: changes and consequences. J Nutr Educ. 2002;34:140–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Boutelle KN, Fulkerson JA, Neumark-Sztainer D, et al. Fast food for family meals: relationships with parent and adolescent food intake, home food availability and weight status. Public Health Nutr. 2007;10:16–23.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Fulkerson JA, Farbakhsh K, Lytle L, et al. Away-from-home family dinner sources and associations with weight status, body composition, and related biomarkers of chronic disease among adolescents and their parents. J Am Diet Assoc. 2011;111:1892–7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. Chan JC, Sobal J. Family meals and body weight. Analysis of multiple family members in family units. Appetite. 2011;57:517–24.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Franko DL, Thompson D, Bauserman R, et al. What’s love got to do with it? Family cohesion and healthy eating behaviors in adolescent girls. Int J Eat Disord. 2008;41:360–7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  40. Fulkerson JA, Strauss J, Neumark-Sztainer D, et al. Correlates of psychosocial well-being among overweight adolescents: the role of the family. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2007;75:181–6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. Burnier D, Dubois L, Girard M. Arguments at mealtime and child energy intake. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2011;43:473–81.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  42. Berge JM. A review of familial correlates of child and adolescent obesity: what has the 21st century taught us so far? Int J Adolesc Med Health. 2009;21:457–83.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  43. Berge JM, Wall M, Neumark-Sztainer D, et al. Parenting style and family meals: cross-sectional and 5-year longitudinal associations. J Am Diet Assoc. 2010;110:1036–42.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  44. Kremers SP, Brug J, de Vries H, et al. Parenting style and adolescent fruit consumption. Appetite. 2003;41:43–50.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  45. Neumark-Sztainer D, Eisenberg ME, Fulkerson JA, et al. Family meals and disordered eating in adolescents: longitudinal findings from project EAT. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2008;62:17–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  46. Haines J, Gillman MW, Rifas-Shiman S, et al. Family dinner and disordered eating behaviors in a large cohort of adolescents. Eat Disord. 2010;18:10–24.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  47. BeLue R, Francis LA, Rollins B, et al. One size does not fit all: identifying risk profiles for overweight in adolescent population subsets. J Adolesc Health. 2009;45:517–24.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  48. Fulkerson JA, Neumark-Sztainer D, Hannan PJ, et al. Family meal frequency and weight status among adolescents: cross-sectional and 5 year longitudinal associations. Obesity. 2008;16:2529–34.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  49. Taveras EM, Rifas-Shiman SL, Berkey CS, et al. Family dinner and adolescent overweight. Obes Res. 2005;13:900–6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  50. Sen B. Frequency of family dinner and adolescent body weight status: evidence from the national longitudinal survey of youth, 1997. Obesity. 2006;14:2266–76.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  51. Rollins BY, BeLue RZ, Francis LA. The beneficial effect of family meals on obesity differs by race, sex, and household education: the national survey of children’s health, 2003–2004. J Am Diet Assoc. 2010;110:1335–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  52. Gable S, Chang Y, Krull JL. Television watching and frequency of family meals are predictive of overweight onset and persistence in a national sample of school-aged children. J Am Diet Assoc. 2007;107:53–61.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  53. Neumark-Sztainer D, Larson NI, Fulkerson JA, et al. Family meals and adolescents: what have we learned from Project EAT (Eating Among Teens)? Public Health Nutr. 2010;13:1113–21.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  54. Jacobs MP, Fiese BH. Family mealtime interactions and overweight children with asthma: potential for compounded risks? J Pediatr Psychol. 2007;32:64–8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  55. Moens E, Braet C, Soetens B. Observation of family functioning at mealtime: a comparison between families of children with and without overweight. J Pediatr Psychol. 2007;32:52–63.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  56. Woodruff SJ, Hanning RM, McGoldrick K. Lunch-time food intake and portion size are influenced by the physical and social context of eating among students in grades six, seven, and eight from Southern Ontario. J Sch Health. 2010;80:421–8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  57. Salvy SJ, Elmo A, Nitecki LA, et al. Influence of parents and friends on children’s and adolescents’ food intake and food selection. Am J Clin Nutr. 2011;93:87–92.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  58. deCastro JM. Family and friends produce greater social facilitation of food intake than other companions. Physiol Behav. 1994;56:445–55.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  59. Robinson E, Tobias T, Shaw L, et al. Social matching of food intake and the need for social acceptance. Appetite. 2011;56:747–52.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  60. Scaglioni S, Arrizza C, Vecchi F, et al. Determinants of children’s eating behavior. Am J Clin Nutr. 2011;94:2006S–11.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  61. Vanhala ML, Laitinen J, Kaikkonen K, et al. Parental predictors of fruit and vegetable consumption in treatment-seeking overweight children. J Hum Nutr Diet. 2011;24:47–53.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  62. Johnson DB, Birkett D, Evens C, et al. Promoting family meals in WIC: lessons learned from a statewide initiative. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2006;38:177–82.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  63. Neumark-Sztainer D, Story M, Ackard DM, et al. The “Family Meal”: views of adolescents. J Nutr Educ. 2000;32:329–34.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  64. Altus DE, Engelman KK, Mathews RM. Using family-style meals to increase participation and communication in persons with dementia. J Gerontol Nurs. 2002;28:47–53.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  65. Nijs KA, deGraff C, Siebelink E, et al. Effect of family-style meals on energy intake and risk of malnutrition in Dutch nursing home residents: a randomized controlled trial. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2006;61:935–42.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Kinesiology, University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Avenue, Windsor, ON, Canada, N9B 3P4

    Sarah J. Woodruff

  2. School of Public Health and Health Systems, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada

    Rhona M. Hanning

Authors
  1. Sarah J. Woodruff
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Rhona M. Hanning
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sarah J. Woodruff .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Diabetes and Nutritional Sciences, School of Medicine, King's College London, 150 Stamford Street, London, SE1 9NH, United Kingdom

    Victor R. Preedy

  2. Rosemead Surgery, 8A Ray Park Avenue, Maidenhead, SL6 8DS, Berkshire, United Kingdom

    Lan-Anh Hunter

  3. Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Life Sciences, University of Westminster, 115 New Cavendish Street, London, W1W 6UW, United Kingdom

    Vinood B. Patel

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Woodruff, S.J., Hanning, R.M. (2013). Family Meals and Diet Quality. In: Preedy, V., Hunter, LA., Patel, V. (eds) Diet Quality. Nutrition and Health. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7315-2_6

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7315-2_6

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-7314-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-7315-2

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation