23/05/2013

A child’s diet can be negatively impacted if there is an unpleasant atmosphere around mealtimes. This is the suggestion of new research from the University of Edinburgh, which highlighted numerous meal habits that have a similar influence, including snacking between main meals, eating in the living room or bedroom and failing to consume at regular times.

Using data from the Growing Up In Scotland study, the investigators considered the eating habits of more than 2000 five-year-olds and discovered children who eat the same food as their parents tend to be the healthiest.

In comparison, youngsters who rarely or never have the same meals as their mum and dad were found to have the poorest diets.

Valeria Skafida, research fellow at the university’s Centre for Research for Families and Relationships, said: “Offering separate children’s food for a main meal may often result in children missing out nutritionally … in cases where children eat different foods, they are eating a less nutritious option.”

Chartered Psychologist Dr Helen O’Connor comments:

“Modelling appropriate behaviour to children is as important at mealtimes as it is in other daily activities. In today’s society with the demands and pressures that families face it has become even more difficult for families to sit down and eat together or eat the same things, but these findings suggest it is ever more important that quality time is spent together as a family.

“Certainly these findings support observations of young people with eating problems in clinical practice, and trying to implement strategies for families to consider how they eat and what they eat is crucial.”

Courtesy BPS