New research suggests that families who eatntogether, even with the television on, consumenmore fruits, vegetables, and calcium-rich foods,ncompared to families who do not dine together. A studynpublished in the Journal of Nutrition Education andnBehavior surveyed 5,000 middle school and high schoolnstudents about their eating habits. About 66% reportedneating dinner with their family at least three times a week.nOf those two-thirds, half reported that the television wasnon during the meal. While families ate more healthfullynwith the TV turned off, the difference between having thenTV turned off or on was not as big as the researchers hadnanticipated. Therefore, while television viewing duringnthe family meal is not desirable, it can serve as a tool tonget children and teenagers to the table. According to thenstudy, togetherness is the key to fostering healthy eatingnhabits in children and television viewing is not necessarilyna deterrent.
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