Bonding over food-Eating meals with the family keep kids slimmer and healthier

Researchers have found that youngsters who joined family members regularly for meals were more likely to eat healthy foods than kids who rarely ate with their families. They were also less likely to suffer from eating disorders.Parents can “really relate to and understand” the findings, published in the May 2 issue of Pediatrics, said study lead author Amber Hammons, a post-doctoral research associate at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.“We wanted to look at the family's contribution to positive outcomes as it relates to nutrition,” added Hammons. “It's important for parents to know what they can do, especially with obesity and eating habits; they want to know what role they can play."