Dinner Rituals That Correlate with Child and Adult BMI

Objective: What predicts whether a child will be at risk for obesity? Whereas past research has focused on foods, eating habits, feeding styles, and family meal patterns, this study departs from a food- centric approach to examine how various dinner rituals might influence the BMIs of children and adults. Methods: In this study of 190 parents (BMI = 29.1 +/- 7.2) and 148 children (BMI = 20.3 +/- 4.4), the relationship between their BMIs and everyday family dinner rituals was examined using both correlation and regression analysis (controlled for educational level of parents). Results: Families who frequently ate dinner in the kitchen or dining room had significantly lower BMIs for both adults (r = -0.31) and children (r = -0.24) compared to families who ate elsewhere. Additionally, helping cook dinner was associated with higher BMI for girls (r = 0.26), and remaining at the table until everyone is finished with eating was associated with lower BMI for boys (r = -0.31). Conclusions: Dinner tables may be one place where social support and family involvement meet- both of which relate to the BMI of children as well as parents. Family meals and their rituals might be an underappreciated battleground to fight obesity.