Family Meals and Television

Family Meals and Television August 31, 2009 It's late summer and school is back in session for most children around the country. New classes, new teacher and friends are just a few of the topics you can talk to your children about. This time of year also brings with it season premiers of favorite TV shows plus an exciting new line up of programming. It's so easy to combine TV with mealtimes but our children may be paying a price for this habit. Dianne Neumark Sztainer, PhD, along with Project EAT, at the University of Michigan studied the effects on children of television watching during meals. She suggests, "The television may be influencing the types of foods that adolescents choose to eat because of the advertisements they see." She found that boys who watched TV during family meals drank more soda and ate less vegetables and grains while girls had significantly less dark vegetables and more fried foods. There is evidence that families who eat together with or without the TV, enjoy more balanced nutrition than those in which family members eat separately. Dr. Neumark Sztainer sums it up, "Our message to parents is: whenever possible, eat family meals and try to keep television viewing to a minimum. Read More     Accumulate Miles Not Pounds   How to Keep Your Memory and Avoid Dementia   Gender Based Eating Habits   To unsubscribe or change subscriber options   click here .

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