Presented by Sydney Massey, MPH, R.D. B.C. Dairy Foundation

Frequency of family meals in OECD

Percentage of 15 year-olds who say they eat family meals several times a week:

Mean 79.4% (25 countries)

Italy 93.8% (1st out of 25)

Iceland 90.8% (2nd out of 25)

France 90.4% (3rd out of 25)

Canada 71.8% (18th out of 25)

US 65.7% (23rd out of 25)

UNICEF, Innocenti Report Card 7, 2007.

Are family dinners disappearing?

• Family meals are not extinct BUT

• 1/4 to 1/3 never or seldom eat together as a family

• 14% NEVER eat a family meal

• Family meals decrease as children get older

Neumark-Sztainer et al. JADA 2003; 103:317-322.Woodruff Atkinson SJ. Waterloo ON, 2007.

Benefit #1: Better nutrition

Benefit #1: Better nutrition

• Better food choices- increased intake of fruits, vegetables, calcium rich foods- decreased intake of pop, fat- more fiber, calcium, folate, iron, vitamins B6, B12, C and E

• May be associated with less obesity, overweight

• May be associated with lower rates of eating disorders

Benefit #2: Better adjustment

Teens who eat with family 5x/week ≤4x/week

• Cigarette smoking 25% 34%• Use or tried cannabis 12% 20%• Serious fights < 30% 40%• Sexual activity by age 16 32% >50%• Suicide attempts twice as many

White House Conference on Teenagers, 2000

Family Day4th Monday in September

www.casacolumbia.org

“We are relinquishing the social dimension of eating.”

Enrique Jacoby, Pan American Health Organization

Nighthawks by Edward Hopper

Benefit #3: Better school performance

National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, Sept 2006.

• 63% of teens who eat family meals 5+ times a week- get all A’s or mostly A’s and B’s

• 49% of teens who have less frequent family meals can report the same

Family-style meals are important

• Family-style meals benefit older adults in residential settings

• Congregate meals benefit older adults living in the community

Nijs KA et al. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci, 2006; Nijs KA et al. BMJ 2006.

US Dept. of Health and Human Services. National Evaluation of the Elderly Nutrition Program, 1993-1995.

Family meals are important

• 80% rank eating dinner together with children as one of the most important activities they do with children or as very important

Mellman and Lazarus Inc. Family values survey. Roper Center at University of Connecticut. Public Opinion Online, 1991.

Family meals are important

• Canadians say mealtime is the favourite time of day for family members to interact and talk about their day

Turcotte M. Statistics Canada catalogue no. 11-008, Canadian Social Trends, 2007

Is this a family meal?

What does eating together mean?

• Does everyone have to be eating the same thing?

• Does the food have to be prepared at home?

• Does the meal have to be at home?

Obstacles to eating together

• Too busy• Parents’ work schedule• Kids’ sport and activity schedules• Parents’ schedules for meetings, exercise• No time to shop or cook• Don’t know how to cook• Family doesn’t like the same foods• Healthy food takes longer to prepare and can

create hostile reactions• Shared meals are unpleasant, so avoided• Eating together is idealized, so unattainable

Research underlying motivations

• in-depth interviews• follow-up focus groups

© BC Dairy Foundation and Concerto Marketing Group, 2009

Clear directions

• Guilt paralyzes. Focusing on phrases like ‘eating together’ or ‘family meals’ provokes guilt

• Need to encourage families to ‘re-create’ together in the kitchen.

• Children may be better custodians of the family meal.

• Take baby steps. Make pizza on Friday night. Mix together a ‘random salad’.

By helping families re-create together in the kitchen, we’ll reconnect food and fun.

Better Together

• www.bettertogetherbc.ca• Hub for resources, tools stories and

background information

How can you encourage people to eat together?