Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany.
Division of Health Psychology, University of Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany.
JAMA Netw Open. 2023 Apr 3;6(4):e236331. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.6331.
Family meals are a formative learning environment that shapes children's food choices and preferences. As such, they are an ideal setting for efforts to improve children's nutritional health.
To examine the effect of extending the duration of family meals on the fruit and vegetable intake in children.
DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This randomized clinical trial used a within-dyad manipulation design and was conducted from November 8, 2016, to May 5, 2017, in a family meal laboratory in Berlin, Germany. Included in the trial were children aged 6 to 11 years who did not follow a special diet or have food allergies and adult parents who served as the nutritional gatekeeper in the household (ie, the family member responsible for at least half of the food planning and preparation). All participants underwent 2 conditions: control, defined as regular family mealtime duration, and intervention, defined as 50% longer mealtime duration (10 minutes longer on average). Participants were randomized to the condition they would complete first. Statistical analyses of the full sample were conducted between June 2 and October 30, 2022.
Participants had 2 free evening meals under different conditions. In the control or regular condition, each dyad ate in the same amount of time as their reported regular mealtime duration. In the intervention or longer condition, each dyad had 50% more time to eat than their reported regular mealtime duration.
The primary outcome was the number of pieces of fruits and vegetables eaten by the child during a meal.
A total of 50 parent-child dyads participated in the trial. Parents had a mean (range) age of 43 (28-55 years) years and were predominantly mothers (36 [72%]). Children had a mean (range) age of 8 (6-11) years and included an equal number of girls and boys (25 [50%]). Children ate significantly more pieces of fruits (t49 = 2.36, P = .01; mean difference [MD], 3.32 [95% CI, 0.96 to ∞]; Cohen d = 0.33) and vegetables (t49 = 3.66, P < .001; MD, 4.05 [95% CI, 2.19 to ∞]; Cohen d = 0.52) in the longer condition than in the regular mealtime duration condition. Consumption of bread and cold cuts did not significantly differ between conditions. The children's eating rate (bites per minute over the regular mealtime duration) was significantly lower in the longer than in the regular condition (t49 = -7.60, P < .001; MD, -0.72 [95% CI, -0.56 to ∞]; Cohen d = 1.08). Children reported significantly higher satiety after the longer condition (V = 36.5, P < .001).
Results of this randomized clinical trial suggest that the simple, low-threshold intervention of increasing family mealtime duration by approximately 10 minutes can improve the quality of children's diet and eating behavior. The findings underscore the potential for such an intervention to improve public health.
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03127579.
家庭用餐是一个塑造儿童食物选择和偏好的形成性学习环境。因此，这是改善儿童营养健康的理想场所。
研究延长家庭用餐时间对儿童水果和蔬菜摄入量的影响。
设计、地点和参与者：这是一项随机临床试验，采用了within-dyad 操纵设计，于 2016 年 11 月 8 日至 2017 年 5 月 5 日在德国柏林的家庭用餐实验室进行。试验纳入了年龄在 6 至 11 岁之间、不遵循特殊饮食或对食物过敏的儿童，以及作为家庭中营养把关人的成年父母（即负责至少一半食物计划和准备的家庭成员）。所有参与者都接受了两种条件：对照组，定义为常规家庭用餐时间；干预组，定义为用餐时间延长 50%（平均延长 10 分钟）。参与者随机分配到他们将首先完成的条件。2022 年 6 月 2 日至 10 月 30 日对全样本进行了统计分析。
参与者在不同条件下享用了 2 顿免费晚餐。在对照组或常规条件下，每个对子在与他们报告的常规用餐时间相同的时间内用餐。在干预组或更长的时间条件下，每个对子用餐时间比他们报告的常规用餐时间多 50%。
主要结果是儿童在用餐期间吃的水果和蔬菜的数量。
共有 50 对父母和孩子参加了试验。父母的平均（范围）年龄为 43（28-55 岁）岁，主要是母亲（36 [72%]）。孩子的平均（范围）年龄为 8（6-11）岁，包括男女各半（25 [50%]）。与常规用餐时间相比，儿童在较长时间条件下吃的水果（t49 = 2.36，P = .01；平均差异 [MD]，3.32 [95% CI，0.96 至 ∞]；Cohen d = 0.33）和蔬菜（t49 = 3.66，P < .001；MD，4.05 [95% CI，2.19 至 ∞]；Cohen d = 0.52）明显更多。在较长时间条件下，面包和冷切的食用量与常规用餐时间条件没有显著差异。与常规用餐时间相比，较长时间条件下儿童的进食速度（每分钟在常规用餐时间内的咀嚼次数）明显降低（t49 = -7.60，P < .001；MD，-0.72 [95% CI，-0.56 至 ∞]；Cohen d = 1.08）。与常规条件相比，儿童在较长条件后报告的饱腹感明显更高（V = 36.5，P < .001）。
这项随机临床试验的结果表明，通过延长家庭用餐时间约 10 分钟这种简单、低门槛的干预措施，可以改善儿童的饮食质量和饮食习惯。这些发现强调了这种干预措施改善公共健康的潜力。
ClinicalTrials.gov 标识符：NCT03127579。
