Eating as a family at least once a day drastically reduces the risk of obesity in adolescents, according to a study published in the Journal of Pediatrics.
Family dinners can be heated. End of the day, tired parents, grumpy teens… All the same. They would be an effective remedy for obesity. A study, published by the Journal of Pediatrics, demonstrates it once again.
Researchers from the Universities of Minnesota and Columbia gathered the results of the ” EAT project (Eating and Activity among Teens), a large study examining the weight and physical activity of nearly 2,300 American adolescents over 10 years. They then asked the subjects about the frequency of their family meals.
Effects from one or two meals a week
Among the cohort, 51% of subjects were overweight, 22% obese. These rates are higher among adolescents who say they never eat with their family (60% overweight, 10% obese). On the contrary, spending if only one or two meals a week with one’s family is associated with lower rates.
The researchers say that during family meals, teens eat healthier foods – if, however, parents are aware of the issue. But it is also the moment spent together, a source of emotional connections – beyond petty quarrels – which would protect young people against obesity and its psycho-social risks.
The authors hope that other studies be carried out in order to detect “modifiable behaviors within households” (snacking, hours and number of meals, etc.) which amplify the risks of obesity and overweight in adolescents, a scourge in the United States. United.
This is not the first time that researchers have investigated the benefits of family meals. In June, a large study carried out in 8 European countries on more than 8000 children even calculated its benefit. Thus, children who eat breakfast with at least one of their parents 5 to 7 times a week are 40% less likely to be obese than others. Among other things, the authors recalled that children eat more slowly at the table, because they talk to their parents. Simply !
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