Social changes during the past few generations have sparked an academic interest in the changing activities and rituals of families; in particular, the family meal.

The family meal has become the focus of research within the disciplines of sociology, medicine and education, forming an emerging body of research into how family meals influence the nutritional and health indicators of children and young people. Most of this research has been conducted outside of New Zealand, but the universal nature of food and families means that international research into the family meal is also relevant to New Zealand families. This report aims to summarise the literature on health and wellbeing indicators associated with the sharing of family meals, and to determine if these associations can be observed in a nationally representative population of New Zealand secondary school students.

Approximately one-third of young people in New Zealand shared meals with their families on seven or more occasions in the previous week; an extra 40 percent shared meals between three and six times. Young people sharing frequent family meals had few differing demographic characteristics; however, nearly one-quarter of young people shared meals with their families twice a week or less. In the current analyses, New Zealand students who reported frequent family meals also reported better family relationships, better communication and more parental support for healthy eating. Frequent family meals were associated with consuming more healthy foods and less unhealthy foods, and with better wellbeing, fewer indicators of depressive mood, and fewer risk-taking behaviours.

The findings of the analyses of the Youth’07 data were generally consistent with international literature that suggests that family meals are a positive family activity for children and young people. With regard to nutrition, the literature suggests that children and young people who eat meals with their families have better dietary profiles and consume healthier foods more frequently. Though the research is more limited with regard to other health behaviours, it also appears that regular family meals may help protect against depression, substance use and misuse and disordered eating behaviours.

For New Zealand secondary school students, frequent family meals are also associated with better family relationships, better dietary behaviours and fewer depressive symptoms and substance misuse. Though it is difficult to determine if family meals alone can improve health outcomes for young people, it appears that sharing meals together is one characteristic of a healthy family environment.

This report was funded by a grant from the Families Commission. The authors were Jennifer Utter, Simon Denny, S Grant, Elizabeth Robinson, Shanthi Ameratunga, and Terry Fleming. From the website.