Are family meals connected to fruit and vegetable consumption in children?

Children are a vulnerable population who learn lifelong habits from their parents. Thus, it’s important to be present at the dining table to lead by example. In fact, studies show that there is a link between frequency of family meals and increased fruit and vegetable intake in children. So how can you do this?

1. Canada’s Food Guide recommends putting away distractions such as TV or mobile devices. Instead, focus on sharing what’s going on in your lives. 

2. Try having family-style meals, where family members can serve themselves instead of having pre-portioned foods. This allows for people to better listen to their hunger and satiety cues.

3. Schedule a fun cultural food night every week. You can have a taco night one week, and a spring-roll night another week. 

However, people may have conflicting schedules. Some children may have extracurricular activities, some parents could be working overtime. Despite this, Canada’s Food Guide says it is still beneficial to eat meals with those who are available. It doesn’t have to necessarily be at dinner time as well. Get together at breakfast if possible!

One nice thing about self-isolation is that if you’re lucky enough to be working or studying at home, this is the best time to be trying out more family meals. When else is everyone home?

The main takeaway is to try your best. It would be impractical to expect everyone to be able to eat family meals every single day, but even having one more family meal per week could be impactful in the long term. 

References

1. HealthLink BC. (2018). Healthy Habits for Kids. Retrieved from HealthLink BC: https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/health-topics/aba5985

2. HealthLink BC. (2018). Healthy Eating: Changing Your Habits. Retrieved from HealthLink BC: https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/health-topics/ad1169

3. Health Canada. (2020). Tips for Healthy Eating. Retrieved from Food Guide Canada: https://food-guide.canada.ca/en/tips-for-healthy-eating/parents-and-children

4. Health Canada. (2020). Healthy Eating Recommendations. Retrieved from Food Guide Canada: https://food-guide.canada.ca/en/healthy-eating-recommendations/eat-meals-with-others/

5. Fink, S. K., Racine, E. F., Mueffelmann, R. E., Dean, M. N., & Herman-Smith, R. (2014). Family meals and diet quality among children and adolescents in North Carolina. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 46(5), 418-422. doi:10.1016/j.jneb.2014.05.004

6. Caldwell, A. R., Terhorst, L., Skidmore, E. R., & Bendixen, R. M. (2018). Is frequency of family meals associated with fruit and vegetable intake among preschoolers? A logistic regression analysis. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, 31(4), 505-512. doi:10.1111/jhn.12531