This is the advantage of sharing meals with your loved ones

Sharing and enjoying meals with loved ones has more advantages than we think. According to a study prepared by scientists from the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) and the University of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (AUB), this practice reduces obesity and favors health in adolescence.

The study shows that the benefits of the Mediterranean diet come not only from the type of food we eat, but from the way we eat it. Therefore, talking to the family and sharing food helps to recognize the feeling of satiety and avoids eating disorders, according to the work published in the journal “International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.”

Reducing obesity

Research suggests that talking and eating more slowly encourages teens to recognize the feeling of satiety in meals and indirectly prevents obesity.

The study states that some routines of family meals can serve us: sharing food, sitting around a table without digital devices, or having a pleasant conversation. They are all beneficial aspects for adolescence and contribute to your health.

At a time when the confinement of the pandemic has revived family meals, this study points to one of the possible positive aspects of the situation that we have had to live, as explained by the researcher of the UOC Foodlab group, Anna Bach-Faig, in statements collected by Efe.

Use of digital devices

To verify this relationship, the researchers analyzed the frequency and duration of family meals, the place where they were made, the use of digital devices, the preparation of food, and the type of communication established in these meals.

The results were clear: most families met for dinner only, and their habits varied depending on whether they ate alone or with their loved ones. In addition, the research identified that when less time was spent on family meals, children spent more time with digital devices and followed the Mediterranean diet.

Embracing the Mediterranean Diet

Parents were aware of this. Most believed that eating in the family was especially important if they had teenage sons or daughters, as this fact favors conversation and closes family ties. These meetings have one more advantage, in addition to indirectly recreating obesity: parents become role models who help establish healthy patterns for their children.

For Bach-Faig, preserving traditions in the way of eating is essential to preserve the benefits of the Mediterranean diet and promote the health of new generations.