Table 1.
Summary of Diet Quality and Meal Patterns.
| Author(s) and Year | Reference Number | Sample | Main Outcomes | Study Design |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diet Quality & Meal Patterns | ||||
| Ayala et al. (2007) | [25] | 167 Mexican American children, 8–18 years old and their mothers | Number of family meals positively associated with fiber intake. | Cross-Sectional |
| Burgess-Champoux et al. (2009) | [15] | 677 adolescents, Project EAT | Five or more family meals per week associated with increased sodium intake for females, but not males. Five or more family meals per week during the first wave of the study was associated with frequency of breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals for males, and only breakfast and dinner for females five year later. |
Longitudinal |
| Burke et al. (2007) | [40] | 594 Irish children, 5–12 years | Reported fiber and micronutrient intake were higher during eating occasions inside the home compared to outside of the home. | Cross-Sectional |
| Chu et al. (2014) | [38] | 3398 Canadian children, 10–11 years | Higher frequency of involvement in home meal preparation was associated with higher diet quality index scores. Children who were involved in meal preparation daily ate 1 more serving/day of vegetables and fruit compared with children who never helped. |
Cross-Sectional |
| Fink et al. (2014) | [18] | 1992 children (age 0 to 19 years) | Five or more family meals per week associated with less sugar-sweetened beverage intake among younger and older children, greater vegetable intake among older children and adolescents, and greater fruit intake among adolescents. | Cross-Sectional |
| Fitzpatrick et al. (2007) | [19] | 1336 parents of children aged 1–4 participating in WIC | Number of days per week the family ate dinner together was positively associated with serving fruit and serving vegetables. | Cross-Sectional |
| Flores et al. (2005) | [43] | 2608 parents of children ages 4–35 months | Minority children less likely than whites to have consistent mealtimes, and more likely to never eat lunch or dinner with their families. The analyses also addressed home safety practices for young children, and found disparities with fewer practices in minority homes. |
Cross-sectional |
| Fulkerson et al. (2009) | [14] | Racially diverse sample of 145 adolescents who attended alternative high school | Family dinner frequency was positively associated with breakfast consumption and fruit intake. | Cross-Sectional |
| Fulkerson et al. (2014) | [12] | Child, adolescent, or adult samples with findings related to family meals or commensal eating | Studies included in review found associations between family meal frequency and intake of fruits and vegetables, micronutrients, and breakfast, and decreased intake of soda, higher-fat foods, unhealthy snacks and cakes, fried foods, and fast food. | Systematic Review |
| Gillman et al. (2000) | [44] | 16,202 youth aged 9–14 | Eating family dinner was associated with consuming more fruits and vegetables, less fried food and soda, less saturated and trans-fat, lower glycemic load, more fiber and micronutrients from food, and no material differences in red meat or snack foods. | Cross-Sectional |
| Haapalahti et al. (2003) | [39] | 404 Finnish children aged 10–11 | Children who ate family dinner regularly consumed less fast food and sweets but more juice than children who did not have regular family dinners. | Cross-Sectional |
| Hammons and Fiese (2011) | [45] | 182,836 children and adolescents across 17 studies | Children and adolescents who ate meals with family 3 or more times per week had healthier dietary patterns than those who ate fewer than 3 meals with family per week. | Meta-Analysis |
| Larson et al. (2006) | [36] | 1710 young adults aged 18–23, Project EAT | Young adults who reported frequent food preparation reported less frequent fast-food use and were more likely to meet dietary objectives for fat, calcium, fruit, vegetable, and whole-grain consumption. | Cross-Sectional |
| Larson et al. (2007) | [37] | 1710 young adults aged 18–23, Project EAT | Family meal frequency during adolescence predicted higher intakes of fruit, vegetables, dark-green and orange vegetables, and key nutrients and lower intakes of soft drinks during young adulthood. | Longitudinal |
| Martin-Biggers et al. (2014) | [46] | Families (with children) | More frequent family meals are associated with greater consumption of healthy foods in children, adolescents, and adults. Adolescents and children who consume fewer family meals consume more unhealthy food. |
Literature Review |
| Naska et al. (2015) | [42] | 23,162 middle-aged European adults | Those who ate more foods outside of the home consumed more sweet and savoury bakery items, soft drinks, juices and other non-alcoholic beverages than those who ate more at home | Cross-Sectional |
| Neumark-Sztainer et al. (2003) | [13] | 4746 adolescents, Project EAT | Frequency of family meals was positively associated with intake of fruits, vegetables, grains, and calcium-rich foods and negatively associated with soft drink intake. Frequency of family meals was associated with consumption of energy, protein, calcium, iron, folate, fiber, and vitamins A, C, E, and B6. |
Cross-Sectional |
| O’Dwyer et al. (2005) | [10] | 958 Irish adults aged 18–64 | Intakes of fiber, micronutrients, calories, protein, fat and carbohydrates were greater at home than away from home. | Cross-Sectional |
| Patrick and Nicklas (2005) | [47] | Families (with children) | Children who eat meals with their families generally consume more healthy foods and nutrients. Eating out is associated with higher intake of fat and calories than eating at home. | Literature Review |
| Poti and Popkin (2011) | [48] | 29,217 children aged 2–18 (national sample) | Between 1977 and 2006, children had an overall increase in energy intake corresponding with a decrease in frequency of eating at home (compared to outside of the home). | Longitudinal |
| Surjadi et al. (2017) | [49] | 6503 children were followed from kindergarten–eighth grade | Family meals in kindergarten and increase in family meal frequency over time both predicted healthier dietary intake in eighth grade among White and Black adolescents, but not among Hispanic or Asian adolescents. | Longitudinal |
| Sweetman et al. (2011) | [41] | 434 children aged 2–5 | Frequency of family mealtimes was unrelated to vegetable consumption or liking. | Cross-Sectional |
| Utter et al. (2008) | [50] | 3245 adolescents (national sample) | Frequency of family meals was associated with consuming five fruits and vegetables per day, eating breakfast, and bringing lunch from home. | Cross-Sectional |
| Videon and Manning (2003) | [51] | 18,177 adolescents (national sample) | Parental presence at family meals was associated with greater consumption of fruits, vegetables, dairy foods, and breakfast. | Cross-Sectional |
| Woodruff and Hanning (2008) | [52] | Families (with adolescent children) | Family meals were generally associated with improved dietary intake. | Systematic Review |
| Woodruff & Hanning (2009) | [53] | 3223 Canadian middle school students | Frequency of family meals was associated with breakfast consumption and decreased consumption of soft drinks. | Cross-Sectional |