title: Does eating family meals and having the television on during dinner correlate with overweight? A sub-study of the PRO GREENS project, looking at children from nine European countries.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Family meals have been negatively associated with overweight in children, while television (TV) viewing during meals has been associated with a poorer diet. The aim of the present study was to assess the association of eating family breakfast and dinner, and having a TV on during dinner, with overweight in nine European countries and whether these associations differed between Northern and Southern & Eastern Europe.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional data. Schoolchildren reported family meals and TV viewing. BMI was based on parental reports on height and weight of their children. Cut-off points for overweight by the International Obesity Task Force were used. Logistic regressions were performed adjusted by age, gender and parental education.
  
  
  METHODS
  Schools in Northern European (Sweden, the Netherlands, Iceland, Germany and Finland) and Southern & Eastern European (Portugal, Greece, Bulgaria and Slovenia) countries, participating in the PRO GREENS project.
  
  
  METHODS
  Children aged 10-12 years in (n 6316).
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the sample, 21 % of the children were overweight, from 35 % in Greece to 10 % in the Netherlands. Only a few associations were found between family meals and TV viewing during dinner with overweight in the nine countries. Northern European children, compared with other regions, were significantly more likely to be overweight if they had fewer family breakfasts and more often viewed TV during dinner.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The associations between family meals and TV viewing during dinner with overweight were few and showed significance only in Northern Europe. Differences in foods consumed during family meals and in health-related lifestyles between Northern and Southern & Eastern Europe may explain these discrepancies.
authors.affiliation: 1Folkhälsan Research Center,Paasikivenkatu 4,00250 Helsinki,Finland.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Roos
authors.affiliation: 1Folkhälsan Research Center,Paasikivenkatu 4,00250 Helsinki,Finland.
authors.forename: Tuuli
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pajunen
authors.affiliation: 1Folkhälsan Research Center,Paasikivenkatu 4,00250 Helsinki,Finland.
authors.forename: Carola
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ray
authors.affiliation: 3Department of Biosciences and Nutrition,Karolinska Institutet,Stockholm,Sweden.
authors.forename: Christel
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lynch
authors.affiliation: 4Unit for Nutrition Research, Faculty of Food Science and Nutrition,School of Health Sciences,University of Iceland & Landspitali University Hospital,Reykjavik,Iceland.
authors.forename: Asa Gudrun
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Kristiansdottir
authors.affiliation: 4Unit for Nutrition Research, Faculty of Food Science and Nutrition,School of Health Sciences,University of Iceland & Landspitali University Hospital,Reykjavik,Iceland.
authors.forename: Thorhallur I
authors.initials: TI
authors.lastname: Halldorsson
authors.affiliation: 4Unit for Nutrition Research, Faculty of Food Science and Nutrition,School of Health Sciences,University of Iceland & Landspitali University Hospital,Reykjavik,Iceland.
authors.forename: Inga
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Thorsdottir
authors.affiliation: 5EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research and the Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics,VU University Medical Center,Amsterdam,The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Saskia J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Te Velde
authors.affiliation: 6Institute of Nutritional Sciences,Unit for International Nutrition, Faculty of Agricultural Nutrition,Environmental Sciences and Home Economics,Justus-Liebig-University,Giessen,Germany.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Krawinkel
authors.affiliation: 6Institute of Nutritional Sciences,Unit for International Nutrition, Faculty of Agricultural Nutrition,Environmental Sciences and Home Economics,Justus-Liebig-University,Giessen,Germany.
authors.forename: Isabel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Behrendt
authors.affiliation: 7Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences,University of Porto,Porto,Portugal.
authors.forename: Maria Daniel Vaz
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: de Almeida
authors.affiliation: 7Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences,University of Porto,Porto,Portugal.
authors.forename: Bela
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Franchini
authors.affiliation: 8Department of Social Medicine,Preventive Medicine & Nutrition Clinic,University of Crete,Heraklion,Crete,Greece.
authors.forename: Angeliki
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Papadaki
authors.affiliation: 8Department of Social Medicine,Preventive Medicine & Nutrition Clinic,University of Crete,Heraklion,Crete,Greece.
authors.forename: Joanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Moschandreas
authors.affiliation: 10National Education Institute of the Republic of Slovenia,Ljubljana,Slovenia.
authors.forename: Cirila Hlastan
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Ribič
authors.affiliation: 11National Center for Public Health Protection,Sofia,Bulgaria.
authors.forename: Stefka
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Petrova
authors.affiliation: 11National Center for Public Health Protection,Sofia,Bulgaria.
authors.forename: Vesselka
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Duleva
authors.affiliation: 10National Education Institute of the Republic of Slovenia,Ljubljana,Slovenia.
authors.forename: Irena
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Simčič
authors.affiliation: 3Department of Biosciences and Nutrition,Karolinska Institutet,Stockholm,Sweden.
authors.forename: Agneta
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yngve
mesh_terms: D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D006266:Health Education; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D016015:Logistic Models; D062407:Meals; D009043:Motor Activity; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology*; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013690:Television