Young people having dinner with their family have better eating habits

Adolescence and early adulthood are conducive to the development of overweight and obesity. During this period, young people start to eat outside, where they prefer cheap meals. These behaviors are particularly common among American children and adolescents: 17% of them suffer from obesity, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Researchers have therefore tried to find out if eating with the family more often could allow young people to develop better habits. Their study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association November 21st. The eating behaviors of 2,728 Americans aged 14 to 24 living with their parents were screened for more than a year. As a result, the more frequent family dinners are, the healthier the diet, regardless of the family balance, the researchers say.

Quantifying the consumption of fruits and vegetables or takeaway

"To our knowledge, no study has ever badyzed how this balance influences diet or not.Researchers say they define the family balance as the way family members communicate with each other, organize their days, and the emotional connections they maintain. quantified the consumption of fruits and vegetables, sugary drinks, fast-food foods and participants' takeaways, and asked how often they had dinner with their family, who could answer "never / almost never","once or twice a week","three to four times a week" or "five times a week or more ".

For researchers, promoting family dinners and motivating young people to help prepare meals could help improve their diet. Strategies must therefore be put in place to encourage families to give priority to these moments and to overcome their organizational difficulties. Acting is urgent: according to a study published in the journal Cancer On November 12, when overweight occurs in adolescence, the risk of developing a pancreatic tumor in adulthood is multiplied by four. Obesity is a risk factor for stroke, heart attack, diabetes, hypertension and rheumatologic problems.