title: Associations between watching TV during family meals and dietary intake among adolescents.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine associations between watching television during family meals and dietary intake among adolescents.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional study using survey data from a diverse sample of adolescents.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were collected from a school-based survey during the 1998-1999 school year.
  
  
  METHODS
  Middle and high school students (N = 4746) from 31 public schools in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. Response rate was 81.5%.
  
  
  METHODS
  Intake of fruits, total vegetables, dark green/yellow vegetables, calcium-rich food, grains, soft drinks, fried food, snack food, calories, family meal frequency, and watching television during meals.
  
  
  METHODS
  General linear modeling comparing dietary intake across 3 groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  33.5% of boys and 30.9% of girls reported watching television during family meals. Adolescents watching television were found to have lower intakes of vegetables, dark green/yellow vegetables, calcium-rich food, and grains and higher intakes of soft drinks compared to adolescents not watching television during meals. However, watching television during family meals was associated with a more healthful diet than not eating regular family meals.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Watching television during family meals was associated with poorer dietary quality among adolescents. Health care providers should work with families and adolescents to promote family meals, emphasizing turning the TV off at meals.
authors.affiliation: Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55454, USA. feld0111@umn.edu
authors.forename: Shira
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Feldman
authors.forename: Marla E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Eisenberg
authors.forename: Dianne
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Neumark-Sztainer
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Story
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D017195:Adolescent Nutritional Physiological Phenomena / Q000502:physiology*; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008910:Minnesota; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013690:Television / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*