Having family meals even just once or twice a week can lower your kids' chances of becoming obese in their teens and adult life, says a new study published in The Journal of Pediatrics.

Lead researcher Jerica M. Berge and colleagues from the University of Minnesota and Columbia University came up with this conclusion based on data from a 10-year study that looked into the eating habits of 2,287 adolescent subjects. 

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From 1998-1999, the adolescents were made to fill up the surveys while they were in middle or high school; a 10-year follow-up survey was then conducted from 2008-2009, which the subjects completed online or by mail. 

The data gathered included the adolescents' dietary intake, their level of physical activity, and weight control behaviors. Additionally, researchers had asked questions about how frequent their families ate meals together and noted these figures against their body mass index.

Dr. Berge said they wanted to identify home environment factors that are modifiable and see their correlation to the children's weight data.

The results were astounding: 60 percent of teens who didn't eat with their families became overweight, and 29 percent became obese when they reached adulthood!

The research also found that having family meals once or twice a week reduced the subjects' chances of becoming overweight and obese.

In the discussion portion of their study, the researchers came up with the following observations:

Family meals tend to consist of a more balanced menu with the inclusion of fruits and vegetables, and are therefore healthier than what adolescents might normally gobble up on their own.

Family meals provide a chance for emotional connection among family members, which can give a sense of security and supportive atmosphere to growing teens, enabling them to regulate their own eating behaviors. This lends credence to previous literature saying that emotionally disturbed kids tend to binge on junk food or turn to unhealthy eating habits and lifestyles.

The study discussion also presented the possibility that adolescents can draw inspiration from parental modeling of healthful eating behaviors during family meals.

While the researchers can not readily pinpoint why having family meals once or twice a week resulted to lower obesity chances, they say the supportive environment during family meal routines, which are established during the child's growing years, may carry forward into adolescence and adulthood.

The researchers hope that the result of their 10-year study can help parents, health care professionals and public health workers in their fight against teen and adult obesity.

TagsObesity prevention, Teen obesity