Family Meals & Food Distractions

Parents, staying involved in your kids lives may not be the only benefit of eating meals together. Studies show that sitting down as a family may also help your waistline. When we eat together we should turn off the TV and computer, put away cell phones and talk. In turn, we are less distracted and more focused on savoring our food and enjoying family.

This time allows family members to check-in, catch up, and look ahead to upcoming events like birthday parties or sporting events. Sharing meals together at least four to five times a week has other benefits including improvements in a child's behavior and table manners, better grades, healthier eating habits and the opportunity to try new foods.

A new study in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition shows that when we eat distracted (i.e. watching TV or surfing the web), we tend to eat more because we don't recall how much we have actually eaten. Therefore, our bodies don't recognize when we are full. This rule is true for the office as well. Instead of eating at your desk, relocate to your office's kitchen or cafeteria. If you don't have that luxury, try turning away from the computer screen.