Characteristics Of Family Meals Research Articles

Exploration of parent-reported family meal dinner characteristics to inform a definition of family meals

ObjectiveTo examine parent-reported key family meal characteristics to advance the conceptualization of how parents perceive family meals to inform public health interventions and clinical practice. DesignCross-sectional study design using ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and online survey data from a racially and ethnically diverse population. ParticipantsParent/child dyads (N = 631) with children ages 5–9 years old from diverse, low-income households. AnalysisMulti-level logistic regression, conditional fixed effects estimators and multi-level logistic models with inverse probability weights. ResultsCharacteristics of meals that parents considered family meals (N = 3328) included: homemade, prepared by the caregivers, eaten at home (table/counter), most of the nuclear family gathered, having a conversation and an enjoyable atmosphere (p < 0.001). Characteristics of meals that parents deemed as non-family meals (N = 562) included: watching TV/tablets, non-family members joining, chaotic/rushed atmosphere (p < 0.001). Conclusions and implicationsParents consider family meals to be meals that take place at home around a table/counter, with homemade food prepared by the caregivers, and most family members gathered enjoying a conversation without other distractions. Study findings indicated that parents endorse specific characteristics as key for defining what "counts" as a family meal. These findings can be used by clinicians as recommendations for improving one's family meal experience and by future research as the basis for intervening on family meal characteristics and standardization of a definition of family meals.

Early school-age family meal characteristics matter for the later development of boys and girls.

Sharing a meal together offers an innovative approach to study the family environment. How often families eat together may not capture the distinct experience for sons and daughters. Instead, studying family meal characteristics might be more enlightening. This study aims to examine the prospective associations between family meal environment quality at age 6 years and later well-being at age 12 years in 734 boys and 758 girls. Participants are from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development birth cohort. When children were aged 6 years, parents reported on their family meal environment experience. At age 12 years, child outcomes included parent-reported healthy lifestyle habits, teacher-reported academic achievement, and self-reported social adjustment. The relationship between early family meal environment quality and later child outcomes were analyzed using multivariate linear regressions. For girls, better family meal environment quality at age 6 years predicted an earlier bedtime, a lower consumption of soft drinks and sweet snacks, more classroom engagement, and fewer behavior problems at age 12 years. For boys, better family meal environment quality at age 6 years predicted an earlier bedtime and less anxiety and more prosocial behaviour at age 12 years. These significant relationships were adjusted for a multitude of child/family characteristics. From a population-health perspective, our findings suggest that family meals represent a cost-efficient, effective protective factor that likely has long-term influences on bio-psycho-social development. Information campaigns that promote family meals as a health intervention could optimize the well-being of boys and girls.

Family meals, positive versus negative emotion suppression, and emotional eating: examining adolescent-parent dyadic associations.

The present study aimed to extend existing research by examining adolescent-parent dyadic associations among adaptive and maladaptive family meal characteristics, positive and negative emotion suppression, and emotional eating. Participants included a community-based sample of adolescents and parents (N = 1646 dyads) who participated in the National Cancer Institute's Family Life, Activity, Sun, Health, and Eating Study. Dyad members both completed measures assessing family meal characteristics (family meal importance beliefs, family mealtime television watching), emotion suppression, and emotional eating via online surveys. Actor-partner interdependence models were used to examine dyadic associations among the assessed family meal characteristics, positive and negative emotion suppression, and emotional eating. Multiple within-person (e.g., adolescent-adolescent, parent-parent), cross-dyad member (e.g., adolescent-parent, parent-adolescent), and divergent adolescent versus parent dyadic effects were identified that differed based on the extent to which participants suppressed positive versus negative affect. For example, whereas adolescents' stronger beliefs in the importance of frequent family meals were associated with lower levels of their own suppression of positive emotions and, in turn, lower levels of both their own and their parents' emotional eating, these mediational associations were only identified at the within-person (not cross-dyad member) level among parents. Collectively, these findings attest to the complexity of associations among the assessed risk and protective family meal characteristics, the suppression of differentially valenced emotions, and emotional eating that manifest at the adolescent-parent dyadic level. Findings also support the continued use of a family-based perspective to further the understanding of factors that are associated with emotional eating. Level V, cross-sectional descriptive study.

Describing Ecological Momentary Assessment Methods for Collecting Dietary Intake in a Racially/Ethnically Diverse Sample

ObjectivesEcological momentary assessment (EMA) is an innovative tool being used in the obesity field to capture real-time information about people’s health. A recent systematic review regarding the use of EMA to assess dietary intake and physical activity in youth found the need for standardized reporting of EMA measures and methods. This presentation will discuss EMA methods used in the NIH-funded Family Matters study, including survey design, registration/technology, EMA protocols, implementation, and lessons learned for future EMA studies. MethodsFamily Matters is an incremental, two-phased (Phase I = 150 participants; Phase II = 627 participants), mixed-methods study conducted with a racially/ethnically diverse and immigrant/refugee sample from largely low-income households. Across two phases, the Family Matters research team designed and administered EMA surveys to parents of 5–9 year olds to measure momentary factors of importance to child weight and weight-related behaviors including parent feeding practices, child eating behaviors, meal preparation, and foods served at family meals. ResultsEMA data allowed for many cutting-edge research questions to be addressed, innovative analyses to be run, and methodological approaches to be advanced. Many diet-related topics were investigated, including 1) the investigation of both within-and across-day relationships between transient and chronic stress and parent feeding practices; 2) parental stress and mood earlier in the day and its association with parent feeding practices later in the day; and 3) family meal characteristics by meal type and day of the week. Additionally, concordance between diet-related EMA measures and objectively collected 24-hour dietary recalls was examined. Family Matters EMA diet-related measures will be presented and related results discussed. ConclusionsThis presentation will be valuable for researchers interested in using EMA for collecting obesity-related measures, such as dietary intake, physical activity, parent feeding practices, and stress/mood. Funding SourcesResearch is supported by grant number R01HL126171 from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (PI: Berge).

Family meal characteristics in racially/ethnically diverse and immigrant/refugee households by household food security status: A mixed methods study

While there is some research examining frequency of family meals by food insecurity (FI) status, there is little research examining other family meal characteristics (e.g., type of food served at meal, emotional atmosphere) or parent feeding practices by FI status. If food and money is scarce, it may be that the broader family meal environment looks different in families with continuous access to food (food secure, FS) compared to families with FI. Using ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and qualitative data, this study explores meal characteristics and parent feeding practices at nearly 4000 family meals in a low-income, racially/ethnically diverse and immigrant/refugee sample. For 8 days, participants (i.e., parents of 5-7-year-old children) completed a survey every time they shared a meal with their child. Additionally, parents completed a qualitative interview regarding family meals. There were many meal characteristics statistically correlated with a family being FI, including: who prepared the meal and how the meal was prepared, the makeup of people at the meal, the meal location and meal atmosphere, and the food served at the meal. Qualitative data illuminated many of these findings from EMA meal surveys. Quantitatively, families with FI and FS reported similar parent feeding practices during family meals. Qualitatively, families with FI and FS reported differences in (1) parent feeding practices; (2) food served at family meals; (3) challenges to having family meals; and 4) adults' role in the family meal. This study provides suggestions for interventionists working with families, including helping families identify time management strategies, including fruits and vegetables into family meals on a budget, reducing screen time at family meals while improving the meal's emotional atmosphere, and developing positive parent feeding practice strategies.

Evening Meal Types and Family Meal Characteristics: Associations with Demographic Characteristics and Food Intake among Adolescents.

Evening meal types and family meal characteristics among adolescents may vary by demographic characteristics and weight status and can negatively impact dietary intake. We used cross-sectional Family, Life, Activity, Sun, Health, and Eating Study data from parent and adolescent dyads (12–17 years) to examine associations of adolescent evening meal types and family meal characteristics with adolescent and family demographic characteristics, weight status, and dietary intake. Multiple logistic regression models were used to evaluate associations of evening meal types and family meal characteristics with daily intake frequency of foods of interest, adolescent demographic characteristics, SES indicators, and weight status. All evening meal types that were not cooked from scratch showed associations with higher daily intake frequencies of less healthy food groups (fast food, convenience foods, sugar-sweetened beverages). Fast food eaten at home and heat-and-serve/box evening meals were associated with lower daily intake frequency of fruits and vegetables. Weight status, race/ethnicity, and age accounted for differences in associations with agreement regarding family meal characteristics. Agreement with often watching TV while eating, often eating alone and the importance of eating together were associated with daily intake frequency of some food groups. Evening meal types focused on convenience and negative family meal characteristics may adversely influence dietary intake among adolescents.

Frequency of eating alone is associated with adolescent dietary intake, perceived food-related parenting practices and weight status: cross-sectional Family Life, Activity, Sun, Health, and Eating (FLASHE) Study results.

To examine relationships between frequency of adolescents eating alone (dependent variable) and diet, weight status and perceived food-related parenting practices (independent variables). Analyses of publicly available, cross-sectional, web-based survey data from adolescents. Online consumer opinion panel. A US nationwide sample of adolescents (12-17 years) completed Family Life, Activity, Sun, Health, and Eating (FLASHE) Study surveys to report demographic and family meal characteristics, weight, dietary intake, home food availability and perceptions of parenting practices. Parents provided information about demographic characteristics. Logistic regression analyses were used to test for associations between variables. About 20 % of adolescents reported often eating alone (n 343) v. not often eating alone (n 1309). Adjusted odds of adolescents often eating alone were significantly higher for non-Hispanic Black compared with non-Hispanic White adolescents (OR=1·7) and for overweight or obese compared with normal- or underweight adolescents (OR=1·6). Adjusted odds of adolescents eating alone were significantly lower for those who reported that fruits and vegetables were often/always available in the home (OR=0·65), for those who perceived that parents had expectations about fruit and vegetable intake (OR=0·71) and for those who agreed with parental authority to make rules about intake of junk food/sugary drinks (OR=0·71). Junk food and sugary drink daily intake frequency was positively associated with often eating alone. Often eating alone was related to being overweight/obese, having less healthy dietary intake and perceptions of less supportive food-related parenting practices.

Maternal Feeding Practices among Children with Feeding Difficulties-Cross-sectional Study in a Brazilian Reference Center.

Given the positive influence of responsive caregiving on dietary habits in childhood, to raise awareness of caregivers regarding their behavior is crucial in multidisciplinary care on infant feeding. To identify the most common responsive and non-responsive feeding practices in mothers of children with feeding complaints, as well as to seek associations between practices and caregivers' profile. Cross-sectional study with 77 children under 18 years old, with complaints of feeding difficulties. Data were collected during interviews with mothers: child age, gender, duration of exclusive breastfeeding, presence of organic disease, dynamics of bottle use, self-feeding practices and posture at meals, use of appropriate feeding equipment; basic information about the mothers (parity and level of education), caregiver feeding style, presence of coercive feeding, frequency and characteristics of family meals. Statistical analysis considered significance level at 5%. The non-responsive profile predominated among mothers (76.2%, with the Authoritarian style being the most prevalent-39.7%). The responsive profile was characterized by absence of coercive feeding, stimulation of self-feeding practices, use of appropriate feeding equipment and meal environment, with interaction at meals. Non-responsive profile consisted of both inadequate environment and posture at meals, use of distraction and coercive feeding, lack of shared meals, and disregard for children's hunger signals. Only the habit of sharing meals with children was associated with mothers' profile, and considered a protection factor against non-responsive care (OR 0.23; 95% CI 0.06-0.88). Both Authoritarian (p = 0.000) and indulgent mothers (p = 0.007) breastfed exclusively for longer time than negligent ones. There was a higher level of interaction with children in "responsive" parental style (OR 0.056; p = 0.01) compared to other feeding styles. Results highlight the need for educational interventions focused on caregivers' behaviors.

Feeding and Mealtime Correlates of Maternal Concern About Children's Weight

ObjectiveTo examine associations between maternal concern regarding their children becoming overweight and two domains of weight-related parenting; child feeding practices and family meal characteristics. DesignCross-sectional study. ParticipantsLow-income mothers (n = 264; 67% non-Hispanic white) and their children (51.5% male, aged 4.02–8.06 years). Variables MeasuredMaternal concern and feeding practices, using the Child Feeding Questionnaire. Meal characteristics were assessed using video-recorded meals and meal information collected from mothers. AnalysisThe authors used MANOVA and logistic regression to identify differences in maternal feeding practices and family meal characteristics across levels of maternal concern (none, some, and high). ResultsApproximately half of mothers were not concerned about their child becoming overweight, 28.4% reported some concern, and 19.0% had high concern. Mothers reporting no concern described lower restrictive feeding compared with mothers who reported some or high concern (mean [SE], none = 3.1 [0.1]; some = 3.5 [0.1]; and high = 3.6 [0.1]; P = .004). No differences in other feeding practices or family meal characteristics were observed by level of concern. Conclusions and ImplicationsConcern regarding children becoming overweight was common. However, concern rarely translated into healthier feeding practices or family meal characteristics. Maternal concern alone may not be sufficient to motivate action to reduce children's risk of obesity.

Family Meal Characteristics are Associated with Maternal Weight and Obesity Risk

Evidence links frequent family meals to healthier diets in children and is a recommended childhood obesity prevention strategy. Distractions, like TV and negative interpersonal interactions at mealtime negate these positive health benefits. Links between an array of family meal characteristics with maternal weight and obesity risk are less well studied. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine family meal frequency and characteristics with BMI and obesity risk in mothers of preschool‐aged children (2–5 years). All questionnaires were 5‐point Likert scales (5=highest score), adapted from valid, reliable instruments. A sample of 550 mothers of preschoolers (72% White, 37% with college degree) completed an online survey assessing family meal practices and self‐reported height and weight. One‐way ANOVA with Tukey post‐hoc tests assessed family meal behaviors and characteristic differences among BMI categories (low normal weight [BMI &lt;22], n=143; high normal weight [BMI= 22 to 24.9], n=128; overweight [BMI between 25 and 29.9], n=115; obese [BMI 30 and above], n=164) and obesity risk tertiles. Most families (93%) had ≥7 family meals/week, and mothers placed strong importance on family meals (mean=4.5±0.6 SD). Meals were eaten at a table more days/week than in front of a TV (4.7±2.6 SD vs 2.2±2.5 SD days/week) and mealtime atmosphere was perceived less stressful (mean=4.1±0.9 SD). Obese mothers reported significantly more family meals in front of a TV and fewer days having meals at a table (2.8±2.6 SD, 4.3±2.7 days/week). Mothers were fairly neutral about whether they planned meals (mean=3.4±0.9 SD), but agreed that they had time and energy for family meals (mean=4.3±0.9 SD). A comparison of family meal frequency and characteristics by weight status revealed no differences between BMI categories and frequency of family meals, importance placed on family meals, meal planning, and time and energy for family meals. A comparison among obesity risk score tertiles for non‐obese mothers (n=386) indicated that mothers in the lowest obesity risk tertile had significantly fewer meals eaten in front of a TV, less mealtime stress, engaged in more planning of family meals, and reported greater time and energy for family meals. No differences occurred in the frequency of meals, importance placed on meals, or eating meals at a table among obesity risk tertiles. Findings suggests that mothers' characteristics of family meals, including where they are consumed, meal planning, and time and energy devoted to meals, are associated with a lower risk for obesity. Future interventions should consider promoting these family meal behaviors.Support or Funding InformationUSDA NIFA #2011‐68001‐30170

Childhood obesity and interpersonal dynamics during family meals.

Family meals have been found to be associated with a number of health benefits for children; however, associations with obesity have been less consistent, which raises questions about the specific characteristics of family meals that may be protective against childhood obesity. The current study examined associations between interpersonal and food-related family dynamics at family meals and childhood obesity status. The current mixed-methods, cross-sectional study included 120 children (47% girls; mean age: 9 years) and parents (92% women; mean age: 35 years) from low-income and minority communities. Families participated in an 8-day direct observational study in which family meals were video-recorded in their homes. Family meal characteristics (eg, length of the meal, types of foods served) were described and associations between dyadic (eg, parent-child, child-sibling) and family-level interpersonal and food-related dynamics (eg, communication, affect management, parental food control) during family meals and child weight status were examined. Significant associations were found between positive family- and parent-level interpersonal dynamics (ie, warmth, group enjoyment, parental positive reinforcement) at family meals and reduced risk of childhood overweight. In addition, significant associations were found between positive family- and parent-level food-related dynamics (ie, food warmth, food communication, parental food positive reinforcement) and reduced risk of childhood obesity. Results extend previous findings on family meals by providing a better understanding of interpersonal and food-related family dynamics at family meals by childhood weight status. Findings suggest the importance of working with families to improve the dyadic and family-level interpersonal and food-related dynamics at family meals.

가족동반식사가 자녀의 심리에 미치는 영향

This study analyzed the effect of family meals on the psychological problems of children. We performed focus group interviews (FGI) on the basic characteristics of family meals, and chose several scales (such as Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), self-esteem, and a daily hassles questionnaire), to measure the psychological variables. We collected data from 442 dyads (mother-child) and used 440 from dyads. In our results, the frequency of family meals affected the psychological problems of children, especially aggression and emotional instability. The atmosphere during meals also affected depression/anxiety, concentration difficulties, emotional instability, self-esteem, peer relationships, and sociality. There were significant correlations between meal atmosphere, family bonding, maternal personality, and psychological problems of children. We performed covariation analysis to examine and control the influence of family bonding and maternal personality; despite controlling for these variables, family meals still influenced children's psychological problems. We conclude that the family meal is a significant variable that impacts the emotional and behavioral problems of children and stress the importance of frequent family meals.

Structural and Interpersonal Characteristics of Family Meals: Associations with Adolescent Body Mass Index and Dietary Patterns

The last decade of research has suggested that family meals play an important role in promoting healthful dietary intake in youth. However, little is known about the structural characteristics and interpersonal dynamics of family meals that might help to inform why family meals are protective for youth. The current mixed methods, cross-sectional study conducted in 2010-2011 includes adolescents and parents who participated in two linked population-based studies. Participants included 40 parents (91.5% female) and adolescents (57.5% female) from the Minneapolis/St Paul, MN, area participating in EAT (Eating and Activity Among Teens) 2010 and F-EAT (Families and Eating and Activity Among Teens). The structural (eg, length of the meal, types of foods served) and interpersonal characteristics (eg, communication, emotion/affect management) of family meals were described, and associations between interpersonal dynamics at family meals and adolescent body mass index and dietary intake were examined via direct observational methods. Families were videorecorded during two mealtimes in their homes. Results indicated that family meals were approximately 20 minutes in length, included multiple family members, were typically served family style (70%), and occurred in the kitchen 62% of the time and 38% of the time in another room (eg, family room, office). In addition, significant associations were found between positive interpersonal dynamics (ie, communication, affect management, interpersonal involvement, overall family functioning) at family meals and lower adolescent body mass index and higher vegetable intake. These findings add to the growing body of literature on family meals by providing a better understanding of what is happening at family meals in order to inform obesity-prevention studies and recommendations for providers working with families of youth.