U of M News Wire
January 10, 2008
Girls who eat meals with their families less likely to use extreme measures to control their weight
By Laura Stroup
U of M News Wire
Adolescent girls who frequently eat meals with their families appear less likely to use diet pills, laxatives, or other extreme measures to control their weight five years later, according to research led by Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, an assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Minnesota and lead investigator of Project Eating Among Teens (Project EAT) at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.
Neumark-Sztainer and Project EAT colleagues studied 2,516 adolescents at 31 Minnesota schools over the course of five years. Participants completed two surveys -- an in-class survey in 1999 and a mailed survey in 200 -- regarding how often they ate with their families as well as their body mass index, feelings of family connectedness, and eating behaviors.
Among teen girls, those who ate five or more meals with their families each week in 1999 were significantly less likely to report using extreme measures -- including binge eating and self-induced vomiting -- to control their weight in 2004, regardless of their sociodemographic characteristics, body mass index, or family connectedness. Among adolescent boys, regular family meals did not predict lower levels of disordered eating behaviors five years later.
The reasons for the gender differences are unclear. Boys who engage in regular family meals may be different in some way that increases their risk for disordered eating behaviors. It is also possible that adolescent boys and girls have different experiences at family meals. For example, girls may have more involvement in food preparation and other food-related tasks, which may play a protective role in the development of disordered eating behaviors. Girls also may be more sensitive to, and likely to be influenced by, interpersonal and familial relationships present at family meals than adolescent boys.
Given the findings of this and other studies and the prevalence of disordered eating among teen girls, the researchers conclude that it is important to find ways to help families eat meals together. “Health care professionals have an important role to play in reinforcing the benefits of family meals, helping families set realistic goals for increasing family meal frequency given schedules of adolescents and their parents; exploring ways to enhance the atmosphere at family meals with adolescents; and discussing strategies for creating healthful and easy-to-prepare family meals,” said Neumark-Sztainer. “Schools and community organizations should also be encouraged to make it easier for families to have shared mealtimes on a regular basis.”
Helpful hints for parents interested in promoting family meals and preventing disordered eating in their teens can be found in Neumark-Sztainer’s book, I'm, Like, SO Fat! Helping your teen make healthy choices about eating and exercise in a weight-obsessed world. This Project EAT research appeared in the January issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
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Modern day explorers featured in U of M Bell Museum’s new "Adventure Science" series
By Nina Shepherd
U of M News Wire
Biologists are the adventurers of our times: they travel to exotic places in search of rare, endangered -- and sometimes dangerous -- creatures and locations under extreme conditions. Meet Minnesota's own adventurers and hear their tales of exploration and day-to-day work in a new series for budding explorers beginning Sundays in February at the University of Minnesota Bell Museum of Natural History, 10 Church St. S.E., Minneapolis. The five-part series includes the following:
• "Samsam Villages and Clean Water in Ghana," 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 10. Share in the travels of university conservation biology student Nicole Benjamin Fink who's working to protect the fragile traditional lifestyle of Africa's Ghana villagers and their natural ecosystem, while introducing modern measures to improve their health and water supply.
• "Listening for Frogs in Guyana," 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 17. University conservation biology student and frog expert Beth Pettit will take visitors on a dazzling tour of the astonishing wildlife and scenic wonders of South America's best-kept secret -- the lush, tropical nation state of Guyana.
• "Sak Sak and Sing Sings: Field Work in Papua New Guinea," 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22. Join plant biology student Wendy Clement on a virtual trip to Pacific island county of Papua New Guinea and learn how to make sak sak (a food staple) from a palm tree and attend a sing sing celebration with natives.
• "10,000 Years and 50 Miles: Time Travel in Minnesota," 2:30 p.m. Sunday, March 2. Whether or not you know Northern Minnesota well, you will see it with new eyes after this fascinating guided visual tour of the history of Minnesota's landscape with one of the university's most celebrated ecologists, author and Professor John Tester.
• "South African Landscapes and Animals," 2 p.m. Sunday, March 9. University conservation biology student Nicole Benjamin Fink has traveled the back roads of South Africa trying to understand shifting distributions of two kinds of wildebeest and the effect of different landscapes on those animals. Join her in this a close-up look at the daily life of a field biologist.
• Tickets for each adventure are $7; $5 for museum members. Discount packages for the series are available for members and nonmembers. For more information on the series and package prices, call 612-624-9050 or visit www.bellmuseum.org. The Bell Museum is part of the university's College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences.
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Growing Concerns
A parenting question-and-answer column with Dr. Martha Erickson of the University of Minnesota
Question: My sister and I get together often with our kids who are both almost 3, but the kids bicker all the time over toys, food -- anything -- you name it. They seem totally unable to share with each other. Is there anything we can do?
Answer: I can imagine how frustrating it is for you and your sister to deal with this bickering when you're trying to have a nice visit. But 3-year-olds are just not mature enough for sharing to come naturally. Young children are by nature self-centered, so they tend to want everything -- food, toys and attention -- all to themselves, with little or no regard for the other child’s needs. It takes several years of maturation and experience for children to learn to take another’s feelings into account. At three, children are just moving toward the age when they can grasp the concept of sharing. And the idea of sharing and taking turns must be taught by example, guidance and repetition. Even as young children learn the concept of sharing, their own desire for power often stands in the way of using what they know. One of the most common ways to establish power is by staking out your turf – you know, “Mine, mine, mine!”
Although it won’t happen quickly, there are steps you can take to help the children learn to share and develop compassion and generosity.
• In your own interactions with your child, consciously demonstrate and describe sharing. For example, at snack time, say, “Let’s share this piece of fruit. Here’s a slice for you and here’s one for me.” Or, when building with blocks, say, “Here, you take a turn and put this one on, then I'll put one on. We're sharing the blocks.”
• Model sharing in your behavior with others. At home, look for opportunities to share things with your husband. Or, when you and your sister are together, make it a point to do some sharing, describing it as you do so. Three-year-olds are great observers and imitators!
• Recognize and praise sharing behavior whenever you see it. Or, as I often say, “Catch the children being good.” A simple, “Oh, I like the way you're giving your cousin a turn,” will probably make both children eager to get that positive attention from their mother and their aunt.
As the children get older, encourage perspective taking – seeing through another person’s eyes. For example, when you see them getting into a battle over something, ask them, “How do you think he feels when you won’t let him play with that?” or “How do you feel when someone won’t share their snack with you?” Perspective taking is an important step on the way to caring relationships with others, in which sharing becomes the natural and comfortable thing to do.
Dr. Erickson is a senior fellow and director of the Harris Programs in the Center for Early Childhood Education at the University of Minnesota.
Want to hear more parenting advice?
Dr. Erickson and her daughter can be heard every Sunday, from 2 - 4 pm, on “Good Enough Moms,” on FM107.1 radio in the Twin Cities or via Webcast at www.FM1071.com
