FAMILY MEALS HAVE BONUS FOR TEENAGERS

For Girls, Substance Abuse Less Likely; For Boys, Get-Togethers Have No Effect

Adolescent girls who sit down for frequent meals with their families
are half as likely to smoke, drink and use marijuana as those who
share family meals less often, according to a new study.

"Part of it is just parents being more in touch with their kids,
being able to see earlier on if their kids are veering down a path
that might not be filled with healthy choices," says Marla Eisenberg,
lead author of the paper and a professor of pediatrics in the
University of Minnesota's medical school.

Family meals may also offer protection simply because they increase
the amount of time teens spend at home instead of out with their
friends, she says -- the environment where they are most likely to
experiment with cigarettes, drugs and alcohol.

Interestingly, teen boys do not enjoy the same benefit, with frequent
family meals having no bearing on their substance use down the road.

"It's really not as clear for boys, we've had a hard time pinning
down what's going on with boys," says Eisenberg.

She speculates the difference may be due to the distinct ways in
which they engage with their families, with girls tending to be
emotionally closer to their parents and better equipped to pick up on
"emotional cues" of support.

The data came from about 800 students who were surveyed when aged 10
to 13 and again five years later. The authors defined "frequent"
family meals as happening five times a week or more, with about 60
per cent of the adolescents falling into that group at the start.

"That could certainly be Sunday brunch, it could be breakfast
everyday before school," Eisenberg says. "We have no reason to
believe that this is isolated to dinner. Even increasing the weekly
number of meals by one or two has some additional benefit."