Girls who eat with their families are less likely to develop
eating disorders, a study says.
Meals at the family dinner table could be the key to preventing
a generation of teenage girls from developing eating disorders.
New research shows that girls who regularly have family meals
are much less likely to adopt extreme weight control behavior such
as vomiting, binge eating and using laxatives or diet pills.
A study surveying more than 2,500 American high school students
found that girls who ate five or more family meals a week had a
much healthier relationship with food in later life.
The research, published in the international journal, Archives
of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, polled students aged 13 to
17 in 1999 and followed them up five years later. Regular family
meals were found to have a protective effect regardless of the
girls' ages, weight, socio-economic status, dieting habits or
relationship with their families.
Experts say doctors should encourage families to have dinner at
the table instead of on the couch in front of the television to
protect against serious eating disorders such as anorexia and
bulimia.
Belinda Dalton, director of eating disorders clinic, The Oak
House, said eating with family helped "normalize" young people's
relationship with food.
"When adolescents are feeling that they're not coping they turn
to something that they can control and food is something available
and accessible for them to control. Clearly, if they're sitting
with their family on a regular basis then the family can be more in
control of their eating," Ms. Dalton said.
"It's about families and young people feeling connected within
their family and that builds self-esteem and a sense of worth and
that works very actively against someone developing an eating
disorder."
An eating disorders expert, Kirsty Greenwood, said meal times
were often difficult for sufferers. "It's typical that they feel
very ashamed of their eating habits and often won't eat with other
people. Perhaps it's because they haven't experienced the
importance of the family meal in growing up," she said.
The study found participating regularly in family meals made no
difference to the future eating habits of boys.
(Agencies via Shenzhen Daily January 16, 2008)