Cross-Sectional Associations Between Family Dinner Frequency and Quality, Self-Directed Parental Weight Talk During Meals, and Disordered Eating Behaviors in Adolescents.

BACKGROUND

Although a higher frequency of family meals is associated with lower levels of disordered eating in adolescents, the quality of family meal interactions and weight-related discourse during mealtimes may play a role in the level of protection.

OBJECTIVE

To examine, based on a priori hypotheses, the protective associations between family dinner frequency and quality (referring to the quality of experiences and not the nutritional or dietary quality of foods served) and disordered eating, and whether the associations are lower or absent when self-directed parental weight talk during meals (weight talk) is present.

DESIGN

This was a cross-sectional study using online surveys in the United States with data collected between October 2021 and February 2022.

PARTICIPANTS

Parents and adolescents were eligible if adolescents were aged 12 to 17 years and parents and adolescents lived together at least 50% of the time (n = 2090).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Adolescents reported disordered eating behaviors (eg, fasting, binge eating, purging, and diet medications; "yes"/"no") and parents reported weight talk ("never to rarely"/"sometimes to always") during the past 6 months.

STATISTICAL ANALYSES PERFORMED

Primary associations were examined between the Family Dinner Index-Parent version (0 = very low to 6 = very high) and weekly family dinner frequency (0-7) and disordered eating. Generalized linear models were used and adjusted for adolescents' age, gender, race, and ethnicity. A cross-product term between Family Dinner Index-Parent version and weight talk was added to test for moderation.

RESULTS

A higher mean family dinner frequency was associated with 7% lower prevalence of binge eating (95% CI, 2% to 12%; P = .01). A higher Family Dinner Index-parent version score was associated with 29% lower prevalence of fasting (95% CI, 22% to 36%; P < .001), 18% lower prevalence of binge eating (95% CI, 11% to 25%; P < .001), 34% lower prevalence of purging (95% CI, 25% to 43%; P < .001), and 35% lower prevalence of using diet medications (95% CI, 26% to 42%; P < .001). As hypothesized, higher family dinner quality was associated with lower disordered eating when weight talk was absent compared with when it was present.

CONCLUSIONS

Higher family dinner quality and no weight talk during mealtimes are associated with lower adolescent disordered eating. These protective associations should be examined longitudinally.