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The Prevalence of Family Meals and Mealtime Practices Among Adults and Their Association with Health Outcomes

Tumin, Rachel Ann
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1437565418

Abstract Details

2015, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Public Health.
Eating is a universal activity that is often shared with others. The ubiquitous nature of eating has fostered great interest in characterizing eating episodes and investigating their relationship to health. The family meal is one eating episode associated with many positive health outcomes, yet little data on the epidemiology of family meals or mealtime practices in the general adult population are available. Furthermore, few studies have examined the long-term benefits of eating family meals to health. I analyzed data from the 2012 Ohio Medicaid Assessment Survey (OMAS), a telephone survey of Ohio’s non-institutionalized adult population, and the National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH), a nationally representative longitudinal survey of U.S. households. Using 2012 OMAS data, I examined the prevalence of eating family meals few (0-2), some (3-5), and most (6-7) days/week. I found that adults regularly ate meals with their family regardless of whether or not they lived with minor children: 47% (95% CI: 46-49) of adults living with and 51% (95% CI: 50-53) living without minor children ate family meals most days/week. This high prevalence of family meals among all adults underscored the need to further examine family meal patterns and practices. The 2012 OMAS included two questions on family meal practices: never watching a TV show or video during family meals and eating home-cooked family meals. I examined the association between family meal frequency, practices, and odds of adult obesity. Approximately one third (36%) of adults never watched a TV show or video while eating, and 62% ate family meals that were all home-cooked. Both of these practices, but not family meal frequency, were associated with odds of obesity. Never watching TV during family meals was associated with a 37% lower odds compared to always watching (95% CI=0.54, 0.73), and adults who ate all home-cooked meals had a 25% lower odds of obesity than those who ate some or no home-cooked family meals (95% CI=0.63, 0.89). Although these cross-sectional findings could not support causal conclusions, adults may benefit from turning off the TV during family meals and preparing their own food. The NSFH supported longitudinal analysis that could better examine the causal link between family meals and health. Adolescents reported how often they ate family dinner when they were 10-18 years. They were re-interviewed approximately 9 years later (age 18-34 years) and answered questions about the quality of the relationship they had with their parents. Family relationships significantly affect individuals’ physical and mental health, and shared meals may enhance family functioning and relationships. However, I found no evidence that eating more family dinners during adolescence was associated with better parent-child relationship quality in early adulthood. Although shared meals are commonplace for most families, the ways in which families experience mealtimes vary. This variability complicates efforts to untangle how and why family meals are associated with health. Additional research characterizing family members’ interactions during shared meals and families’ mealtime practices is needed to better understand which aspects of health are most affected by eating together as a family.
Sarah Anderson, PhD (Advisor)
Courtney Lynch, PhD (Committee Member)
Abigail Shoben, PhD (Committee Member)
Corrine McConnaughy, PhD (Committee Member)
107 p.
Public Health
family meals; obesity; mealtime practices; relationship quality

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Tumin, R. A. (2015). The Prevalence of Family Meals and Mealtime Practices Among Adults and Their Association with Health Outcomes [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1437565418

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Tumin, Rachel. The Prevalence of Family Meals and Mealtime Practices Among Adults and Their Association with Health Outcomes. 2015. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1437565418.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Tumin, Rachel. "The Prevalence of Family Meals and Mealtime Practices Among Adults and Their Association with Health Outcomes." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1437565418

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.