What can families gain from the family meal? A mixed-papers systematic review

Middleton, Georgia; Golley, Rebecca K.; Patterson, Karen; Moal, Fairley Le; Coveney, John

doi:10.1016/j.appet.2020.104725

Cited by 43 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…This pattern is also commonly associated with home cooked meals and a convivial atmosphere [ 47 ]. What is indeed remarkable, even today, is that this model of regular family meals is strongly valued, even though evolutions of contemporary life make its practice difficult, if not impossible, on a daily basis [ 8 , 49 ]. Surprisingly enough, as Marenco notes in 1992 about the pattern of regular family meals, “ the absence of reference of this model has an exceptional character: it leaves room for no other ” [ 47 ] (p. 6).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, eating alone is often associated with eating in front of screens, such as phones, computers, televisions and electronic tablets [ 55 ], indicative of the negative image of eating alone, as if using technological devices during meals necessarily implies isolation and is altogether detrimental to the experience of the ideal meal [ 50 ]. Having regular family meals has been associated with numerous positive health and wellbeing outcomes [ 8 ], particularly in terms of dietary and health benefits for children, including body weight [ 10 , 56 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Family meals are promoted in public health campaigns, the media and in the public opinion as a healthy and a convivial practice, by referring more or less accurately to results from research studies [ 7 ]. Yet, this type of promotion of family meals is misleading as, so far, only correlational associations have been shown between domestic commensality and positive health and wellbeing outcomes, has shown by systematic reviews and meta-analyses in this area, largely focussed on the frequency of family meals [ 8 , 9 , 10 ]. However, the research field on family meals is still lacking a social science review of papers that tackles this paradoxical phenomenon of promotion of family meals for health and wellbeing reasons despite strong scientific evidence supporting these claims.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Beyond the Normative Family Meal Promotion: A Narrative Review of Qualitative Results about Ordinary Domestic Commensality

Moal

Michaud

Hartwick-Pflaum

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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There exists a normative representation of family meals in contemporary Western societies which is promoted as imperative through public health programs, larger discourses and by some studies in the nutritional and public health research fields. Family meals, also called domestic commensality, are represented as convivial events and are associated with positive health and wellbeing outcomes but there is minimal evidence to show they are beneficial for family members and it is not known which aspect of the family meal could be responsible for these alleged benefits. This normative family meal image is based on a representation of the family as a peaceful unit exempt from external constraints. This narrative literature review of qualitative studies of family meals seeks to put forward the underlying premises of this representation and compare it with reports about actual practices. The results emphasize that eating together is still practiced and remains valued by family members, which is in contrast to discourses lamenting the decline of the family meal. However, the valorisation and recurrence of family meals depends on class, gender and cultural positions. There is a gap between the norm of healthy or convivial and achievable family meals, which can reinforce the so-called “mental load” and “emotion work” of those in charge of feeding the family and heighten inequalities within the household. In fact, there are many challenges to family meals which originate from external constraints or are inherent aspects of family life. The results from this review suggest that we should focus on family meals by taking into account the food work surrounding it and focussing on the interactional aspects of family meals. Ethnographic methods allow the researcher to observe the diversities and complexities of commensality as well as family dynamics and, in doing so, could provide more realistic representations of eating within the family.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Beyond the Normative Family Meal Promotion: A Narrative Review of Qualitative Results about Ordinary Domestic Commensality

Moal

Michaud

Hartwick-Pflaum

et al. 2021

IJERPH

Self Cite

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“…Moreover, there is evidence that it is the quality, not quantity, of family meals during adolescence that has an impact on health outcomes 78 . However, these relationships need to be confirmed using longitudinal and intervention study designs, 79 which are limited to date and have not yet determined whether family meals are causally associated with positive outcomes or the mechanisms by which these effects may occur.…”

Section: Adolescencementioning

confidence: 99%

Positive parenting approaches and their association with child eating and weight: A narrative review from infancy to adolescence

et al. 2020

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Summary Parents play a critical role in the development of children's eating behaviours and weight status, serving as providers, models and regulators of the food environment. Many research reviews have focused on the robust body of evidence on coercive control in feeding: how parenting practices such as restriction and pressure to eat increase children's risk for developing undesirable eating behaviours and unhealthy weight outcomes. Fewer reviews adopt a strengths‐based perspective focusing on the ways that parents can actively support the development of healthy eating behaviours and weight trajectories. Emerging research on such positive parenting styles and practices offers solutions beyond the avoidance of coercive control, as well as opportunities to highlight parallels between research on food parenting and the broader, well‐established developmental literature on positive parenting. The focus of this review is to summarize what is known regarding benefits of positive parenting styles and practices for child eating and weight outcomes and discuss recommendations for future research. Current evidence supports starting with responsive feeding and parenting during infancy and incorporating structure and limit setting in early childhood, with monitoring and mealtime structure remaining important during middle childhood and adolescence. Areas for future research include: (1) further examination of the implications of identified food parenting practices and styles among diverse groups and caregivers; (2) increased consideration of child factors (eg, temperament) as moderators or mediators; and (3) further clarification of the relationship between general parenting and food parenting.

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“…Coming together regularly for a family meal has been associated with dietary and weight benefits for both adults and children. Positive associations have also been reported between the family meal and improvements in wellbeing, reduced risk-taking behaviors, and fewer disordered eating behaviors in adolescents [149]. EEN implies a radical change in family dynamics affecting the mealtime, a special and relevant moment in Mediterranean culture.…”

Section: Advantages Of Cdedmentioning

confidence: 98%

EEN Yesterday and Today … CDED Today and Tomorrow

2020

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The treatment of Pediatric Crohn’s Disease (CD) requires attention both to achieve mucosal healing and to optimize growth, while also maintaining proper bone health. Exclusive Enteral Nutrition (EEN) is recommended as first-line treatment in luminal CD. The therapeutic mechanisms of EEN are being discovered by advances in the study of the gut microbiota. Although the total exclusion of a normal diet during the time of EEN continues to be of high importance, new modalities of dietary treatment suggest a successful future for the nutritional management of CD. In this sense, Crohn’s Disease Exclusion Diet (CDED) is a long-term strategy, it apparently acts on the mechanisms that influence the appearance of inflammation (reducing dietary exposure to products negatively affecting the microbiota), but does so using specific available whole foods to achieve this goal, increases the time of clinical remission and promotes healthy lifestyle habits. The development of CDED, which partly minimizes the problems of EEN, has enabled a turnaround in the treatment of pediatric CD. This review highlights the role of enteral nutrition in the treatment of Crohn’s disease with special emphasis on newer dietary modalities such as CDED.

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What can families gain from the family meal? A mixed-papers systematic review

Cited by 43 publications

References 40 publications

Beyond the Normative Family Meal Promotion: A Narrative Review of Qualitative Results about Ordinary Domestic Commensality

Beyond the Normative Family Meal Promotion: A Narrative Review of Qualitative Results about Ordinary Domestic Commensality

Positive parenting approaches and their association with child eating and weight: A narrative review from infancy to adolescence

EEN Yesterday and Today … CDED Today and Tomorrow

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