title: Arguments at mealtime and child energy intake.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine how arguments at mealtimes relate to children's daily energy intake.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study using data obtained through the Québec Longitudinal Study of Child Development 1998-2010 (QLSCD), a representative sample of children born in 1998, in the province of Québec, Canada.
  
  
  METHODS
  Face-to-face interviews, questionnaires, and 24-hour dietary recall interviews addressed to children's parents.
  
  
  METHODS
  One thousand five hundred forty-nine 4-year-old children who participated in a nutrition substudy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Children's energy intakes were measured through a 24-hour dietary recall interview administered to parents by trained nutritionists, in the children's homes.
  
  
  METHODS
  The main associations were examined through chi-square tests of independence and through multivariate logistic regression analyses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The adjusted odds for consuming a high daily energy intake was 2.5 (95% confidence interval: 1.3-4.9) in children who were never exposed to arguments (between parents and children) at mealtimes, in comparison to children who were often or always exposed to arguments.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Mealtimes that are free of arguments, specifically between parents and children, appear to associate with high daily energy intakes in children, even after controlling for other factors, including a child's level of physical activity, eating in front of the television, mother's educational level, and number of overweight parents, among others.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Population Health, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Burnier
authors.forename: Lise
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dubois
authors.forename: Manon
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Girard
mesh_terms: D002652:Child Behavior; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D002149:Energy Intake; D054541:Family Conflict; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors