PMU11 - THE EFFECT OF FREQUENT FAMILY MEALTIMES ON CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Abstract

Current research is suggestive of a positive link between consumption of meals as a family and subsequent beneficial effects on child and adolescent health. A systematic review was conducted to examine the association between the frequency of family meals (FFM) and measured clinical outcomes in subjects <18 years old. Electronic databases (Medline, Embase and Cochrane Library) were interrogated to identify English-language studies published between January 2008 and May 2018. The eligibility criteria included full publications reporting outcomes associated with FFM in healthy weight or obese children. Of the 592 citations identified in the electronic searches, 60 publications met the pre-defined inclusion criteria. Studies reported data from multiple countries with the majority of evidence being reported from North America. There was strong evidence for an association between increased FFM and both positive mental health (6/8 studies reporting this) and consumption of a healthy diet/fruit and vegetables (18/21 studies). An inverse correlation of FFM and obesity/weight gain (17/21 studies) and disordered eating behaviours (binging, purging, and frequent dieting) (5/7 studies) was consistently reported across studies. There was conflicting evidence for an association between FFM and either academic success (1/2 studies) or a reduction in risk-taking behaviours in adolescents (smoking, alcohol, sexual behaviour, and substance abuse) (6/12 Studies). Several subject characteristics including gender, age, and ethnic background were reported to impact the magnitude of the effect of FFM on outcomes of interest. As expected, the majority of published evidence was observational in design and therefore the results must be interpreted in light of the inherent biases associated with this study design. This study provides a comprehensive review of the current evidence base and is suggestive of a beneficial effect of increased FFM for on a number of key health and social outcomes in children and adolescents.