Newswise —
Their study indicates that children's fruit and vegetable intake can be increased significantly by an additional ten-minute average stay at the table – totaling 30 minutes. Their average intake increased by roughly 100 grams, equivalent to one of the five recommended daily portions of fruits and vegetables, such as a small apple or bell pepper. The findings have been published in the JAMA Network Open, a US journal.
Jutta Mata, a health psychology professor at the University of Mannheim, emphasizes the practical significance of this outcome for public health, as an extra portion of fruits and vegetables daily can lower the risk of cardiometabolic disease by 6 to 7 percent. "To achieve this effect, an adequate amount of fruits and vegetables should be easily accessible on the table, preferably in bite-sized pieces," adds the health psychologist.
The study involved 50 pairs of parents and their children, with an equal number of boys and girls participating. The children in the study had an average age of 8 years, while the parents had an average age of 43 years. The participants were served a standard German dinner, which included sliced bread, cold cuts, and cheese, as well as bite-sized fruits and vegetables.
Ralph Hertwig, Director at the Center for Adaptive Rationality of the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, highlights the significance of meal duration as a key factor in improving children's diets during family meals. This relation was already hinted at in a meta-analysis of studies examining the qualitative components of healthy family meals. However, the experimental study now provides concrete evidence of this previously observed correlative relationship.
In addition, the study indicates that longer family meals did not result in increased consumption of bread, cold cuts, or dessert among the children. The researchers suggest that the easily consumable bite-sized pieces of fruits and vegetables may have been more appealing and thus contributed to the increased intake.
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