Longer Family Mealtimes Linked to Healthier Meals for Children

Family meals are a formative time for a child’s development in many areas. One such area is food choices and preferences, making family meals an ideal place to help improve children’s nutritional health for a lifetime. Family meals are central to children’s nutrition, with about two-thirds of their calorie intake coming from food prepared at home and most meals being eaten in the family setting.  

A new randomized clinical trial looked at the effect of extending the length of family meals on fruit and vegetable intake in children. Researchers in Germany studied 50 parent-child pairs, with children aged 6 to 11 years old. The parents were predominately mothers, and were those who served as the “nutritional gatekeeper” in the household (i.e., responsible for at least half of the meal planning and preparation). The participants were studied in two conditions: regular family mealtime duration, and 50% longer mealtime duration (10 minutes longer on average).

They found that the children ate significantly more fruits and vegetables when family meals lasted longer. The seven additional pieces of fruits and vegetables (on average) corresponded to approximately one portion or 100 g (e.g., one medium apple). The children’s eating rate (bites per minute) was also significantly lower and the children reported significantly higher satiety (feeling full) after the longer mealtime. The children did not eat significantly more of the other foods offered (bread and cold cuts), which could possibly be explained because the fruits and vegetables were cut into bite-sized pieces, making them convenient to eat.

Low fruit and vegetable intake increases the risk for chronic noncommunicable diseases, yet children worldwide eat considerably less fruits and vegetables than the recommended amount. These findings indicate that increasing family mealtime duration is a simple, inexpensive, and accessible strategy that can significantly improve children's diets and eating behavior.