BENEFITS OF FAMILY DINNERS
1 min read
Our belief in the “magic” of family dinners is grounded in research on the physical, mental and emotional benefits of regular family meals.
Over three decades of research have shown that regular family meals offer a wide variety of physical, social-emotional and academic benefits. While some of these benefits can be gained through other activities, eating together is the only single activity that is known to provide all of them at the same time.
We recommend combining food, fun and conversation at mealtimes because those three ingredients are the recipe for a warm, positive family dinner — the type of environment that makes these scientifically proven benefits possible.
Some of the specific benefits of family dinners are:
- Better academic performance
- Higher self-esteem
- Greater sense of resilience
- Lower risk of substance abuse
- Lower risk of teen pregnancy
- Lower risk of depression
- Lower likelihood of developing eating disorders
- Lower rates of obesity
- Better cardiovascular health in teens
- Bigger vocabulary in preschoolers
- Healthier eating patterns in young adults
There are also benefits for adults, including:
- Better nutrition with more fruits and vegetables and less fast food
- Less dieting
- Increased self-esteem
- Lower risk of depression
Source: https://thefamilydinnerproject.org/about-us/benefits-of-family-dinners/#:~:text=Some%20of%20the%20specific%20benefits%20of%20family%20dinners%20are%3A&text=Greater%20sense%20of%20resilience,Lower%20risk%20of%20depression
