Family Meals Improve Academic Performance -research says

As students head back to school, the FMI Foundation heralds one of the best strategies for succeeding in the academic year ahead – family meals. The growing body of published research demonstrates that family meals contribute to improved academic performance, mental health, and physical health. Today, the FMI Foundation released new data in its “Staying Strong with Family Meals” Barometer study, revealing Americans are becoming increasingly aware of these benefits.

Seventy-five percent of Americans recognize that family meals improve family functioning while 58% recognize they improve fruit and vegetable consumption.

A growing number of Americans, 28%, recognize that sharing meals helps to improve grades at school, while 24% recognize that kids who share family meals are less likely to use and abuse drugs.

This Barometer is a recurring quantitative study among a nationally representative sample of consumers.

The academic research on family meals is conclusive. Thousands of peer-reviewed studies over the last 30 years reveal that sharing family meals helps to improve physical, psychological, and social health outcomes.

For children and adolescents, family meals help safeguard against anti-social behavior, protect against the harmful effects of cyberbullying, and reduce drug and alcohol use. They also bolster self-esteem, improve body weight, and enhance overall nutritional intake. Family meals deliver all these benefits while strengthening the family unit and increasing the overall connectedness of the family.

“No matter how you define family, sharing meals helps set children up for success,” said David Fikes, executive director of the FMI Foundation. “The onset of school brings unintended stress and anxiety, but when adolescents share a family meal, they report feeling happier and more fulfilled, therefore less prone to burnout and distress.”

The “Staying Strong with Family Meals” Barometer study also confirms what we already suspect – that the greatest barrier to sharing more family meals is differing schedules – reported by 45% of Americans.

Family meals offer numerous benefits, not just dinnertime. Regular, device-free meals in the same room, regardless of time, contribute to these benefits, according to Fikes.