Learning By Example: How Family Meal Times Could Make 'Good Eating' Easier To Swallow

Traditional values are alive and well in the 'caring sharing' 90's with British adults committed to making meal times a family affair, a surprising new survey reveals.

And The Cancer Research Campaign - who commissioned the opinion poll with frozen food giants Iceland - is calling on parents to make use of family meals to set standards for their kids eating habits.

The poll, by MORI, shows that almost half of adults in the UK sit down to eat with other members of their family every day - and Britain's leading cancer charity believes this provides mums and dads with the ideal opportunity to establish healthy eating patterns.

Top psychologist, Prof Cary Cooper from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, welcomes these latest findings and believes it's great news for the health - as well as the emotional welfare - of the British family unit.

He says: "For too long we've been told that the traditional nuclear family is nothing but a myth and that kids and their parents are far too busy to sit down to eat properly, and communicate effectively, with one another."

"But this research highlights that Britons are still make the effort to prepare a meal and set aside time to share it with their kids, despite the fact that in two out of three families in the UK, both parents now work."

Previous surveys (conducted on behalf of The Campaign and Iceland in January 1998) have shown that although many children are reluctant to improve their diets, it's still parents who wield the most power around the dinner table.

Prof Cooper adds: "Research is already showing that many kids see their parents as role models and will do as they do. So instead of nagging and trying to bribe youngsters to eat healthily, grown ups could really start using meal times as the perfect chance to lead by example and make sure their offspring eat up their vegetables."

It's vital that children get into the habit of eating vegetables at an early age as it's widely believed that around one in three cases of cancer are diet related and therefore potentially preventable. These include bowel and stomach cancers which currently kill around 30,000 men and women each year.

Director General of The Cancer Research Campaign, Prof Gordon McVie says: "The results of this poll are particularly fascinating because it suggests that family members are sticking to set meal times and not just using their homes as hotels, helping themselves to junk food when it suits them.

"Of course we can't assume that everyone questioned eats healthily and many families could well be sitting down together to a plate of greasy chips.

"But now we know 50 per cent of households with children eat together every day, parents have surely got a 'captive audience' and all I can do is to reinforce the importance of proving to your kids it's 'great to eat your greens' and help prevent them from serious illness in later life."

However, the poll also shows that there's still room for improvement in the nation's eating habits. One in seven people would rather sit down to eat in front of the TV than with the rest of their household and one in ten only make the effort on special occasions, for example, birthdays and anniversaries.

Chairman of Iceland, Malcolm Walker CBE, adds: "We all lead such busy lives that it's tempting for family members to eat separately. But eating together is clearly an ideal opportunity to develop a healthy diet.

"And there's no need for mums and dads to worry about having the time to come home and peel and prepare pounds of vegetables as frozen veg retain as many nutrients as fresh."

Technical details

MORI interviewed a representative, quota sample of 2,051 adults aged 15+ in 163 sampling points in Great Britain between 22-25 January 1999. Data have been weighted to reflect the national profile.