Reclaiming the Family Table: Mealtimes and Child Health and Well-being

While lasting only twenty minutes, on average, family mealtimes are embedded in a social, cultural, and economic context that are associated with a variety of indicators of children’s health and wellbeing. This social policy report provides a brief overview of current research suggesting that frequency of family mealtimes, family climate during shared mealtimes, environmental and policy influences on family food choice are related directly and indirectly with children’s health and wellbeing.