WHAT'S KNOWN ON THIS SUBJECT: Family meals are protective for child health, but there are inconsistent findings in relation to child weight status. More research is needed examining why family meals are protective for child health and whether there are differences by child weight status. WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS:The current mixed-methods study used direct observational methods to examine family dynamics during family meals and child weight status. Results indicated that positive family interpersonal and food-related dynamics during family meals were associated with reduced prevalence of childhood obesity. abstract BACKGROUND: Family meals have been found to be associated with a number of health benefits for children; however, associations with obesity have been less consistent, which raises questions about the specific characteristics of family meals that may be protective against childhood obesity. The current study examined associations between interpersonal and food-related family dynamics at family meals and childhood obesity status. METHODS:The current mixed-methods, cross-sectional study included 120 children (47% girls; mean age: 9 years) and parents (92% women; mean age: 35 years) from low-income and minority communities. Families participated in an 8-day direct observational study in which family meals were video-recorded in their homes. Family meal characteristics (eg, length of the meal, types of foods served) were described and associations between dyadic (eg, parent-child, child-sibling) and familylevel interpersonal and food-related dynamics (eg, communication, affect management, parental food control) during family meals and child weight status were examined.

Objectives. This study investigated differences in behavioural health protective and risk factors in US Latino and non-Latino White adolescents as well as differences among

Cross-sectional and longitudinal research has shown that family meals are protective for adolescent healthful eating behaviors. However, little is known about what parents think of these findings and whether parents from single- versus dual-headed households have differing perspectives about the findings. Additionally, parents’ perspectives regarding barriers to applying the findings on family meals in their own homes and suggestions for more wide-spread adoption of the findings are unknown. The current study aimed to identify single- and dual-headed household parents’ perspectives regarding the research findings on family meals, barriers to applying the findings in their own homes and suggestions for helping families have more family meals. The current qualitative study included 59 parents who participated in sub-study of two linked multi-level studies—EAT 2010 (Eating and Activity in Teens) and Families and Eating and Activity in Teens (F-EAT). Parents (91.5% female) were racially/ethnically and socio-economically diverse. Data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. Results from the current study suggest that parents from both single- and dual-headed households have similar perspectives regarding why family meals are protective for healthful eating habits for adolescents (e.g., provides structure/routine, opportunities for communication, connection), but provide similar and different reasons for barriers to family meals (e.g., single-headed=cost vs. dual-headed=lack of creativity) and ideas and suggestions for how to increase the frequency of family meals (e.g., single-headed=give fewer options vs. dual-headed=include children in the meal preparation). Findings may help inform public health intervention researchers and providers who work with adolescents and their families to understand how to approach discussions regarding reasons for having family meals, barriers to carrying out family meals and ways to increase family meals depending on family structure.

Background To date there has been limited success with childhood obesity prevention interventions. This may be due in part, to the challenge of reaching and engaging parents in interventions. The current study used a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach to engage parents in co-creating and pilot testing a childhood obesity prevention intervention. Because CBPR approaches to childhood obesity prevention are new, this study aims to detail the creation, including the formation of the Citizen Action Group (CAG), and implementation of a childhood obesity prevention intervention using CBPR methods. Methods A CBPR approach was used to recruit community members to partner with university researchers in the CAG (n=12) to create and implement the Play it Forward! childhood obesity intervention. The intervention creation and implementation took two years. During year 1 (2011–2012), the CAG carried out a community needs and resources assessment and designed a community-based and family-focused childhood obesity prevention intervention. During year 2 (2012–2013), the CAG implemented the intervention and conducted an evaluation. Families (n = 50; 25 experimental/25 control group) with children ages 6–12 years participated in Play it Forward! Results Feasibility and process evaluation data suggested that the intervention was highly feasible and participants in both the CAG and intervention were highly satisfied. Specifically, over half of the families attended 75% of the Play it Forward! events and 33% of families attended all the events. Conclusion Equal collaboration between parents and academic researchers to address childhood obesity may be a promising approach that merits further testing.

Aims and Objective The aim of this retrospective qualitative study is to understand how transitions in the family life cycle and responses to these events may relate to the onset of eating disorders in an attempt to generate new theoretical insights and inform future research in the area of eating disorder prevention. Background Little is known about the contextual factors that occur throughout the family life cycle that may be risk factors for the development of eating disorders. Design and Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 27 individuals of varied ages (age range =17–64; Median = 27; SD 13.7) currently receiving treatment for eating disorders in an outpatient clinic specialising in eating disorder treatment. Data were analysed using grounded theory methods. Results Six themes were identified as family life cycle transitional events that preceded the onset of participants’ eating disorders: (a) School Transitions, (b) Death of a Family Member, (c) Relationship Changes, (d) Home and Job Transitions (e) Illness/Hospitalisation and (f) Abuse, Sexual Assault, or Incest. Conclusions Results indicated that transitional events in the family life cycle followed by a lack of needed support during these transitions may precipitate the onset of eating disorders. Thus, future research should use these findings to inform the creation of interventions that reduce the intensity of the stress brought about by these transitional periods and increase the adaptability and coping skills of individuals and family members to prevent eating disorders. Relevance to Clinical Practice Nurses and other healthcare professionals should be aware of the importance of transitional events occurring in the family life cycle of adolescents and young adults. Helping parents to be aware and supportive of difficult transitional events may be more important than trying to solve or fix the problem.