Nutrition is the most vital component of the healthy development of kids. It has been written by Healthychildren.org that "the specific nutritional choices you and your youngster make are crucial." Good nutrition is important to good health and the American Academy of Pediatrics encourages parents to consider their nutritional decisions as health decisions. Recent research shows that low income families can improve the health of their kids dramatically by spending some extra time with their kids at regular mealtimes.
In a news release on Jan. 17, 2013, the University of Illinois has reported, In minutes a day, low-income families can improve their kids' health. According to a new University of Illinois study, when low-income families devote three to four extra minutes to regular family mealtimes, their children’s ability to achieve and maintain a normal weight improves dramatically. Barbara H. Fiese, director of the U of I’s Family Resiliency Program, has said, “Children whose families engaged with each other over a 20-minute meal four times a week weighed significantly less than kids who left the table after 15 to 17 minutes. Over time, those extra minutes per meal add up and become really powerful.”
Childhood obesity in low-income families has been found to be a complex problem with many contributing factors, which may include being part of a single-parent family, having a mother who is not well educated, and living in a poor neighborhood which does not have easy access to healthy foods. However, even as these risk factors were found to accumulate, this study found, low-income children’s participation in regular high-quality family mealtimes made a significant difference in their weight status. Fiese has said, “Three to four extra minutes per meal made a healthy weight more likely.”
