Mealtime conversations: Does one family meal a week make a difference in the prevention of and attitudes concerning smoking behaviors?

Parental disapproval has been shown to impact the health behaviors of adolescents. We posit that even one meal a week with family can be influential in altering adolescent smoking attitudes and behaviors. Data were collected from high school students in a large southeastern city (N=4336). The majority of the students were female (54.7%). African American students constituted 73.9% of the population, while White students comprised 22.9% of the population. We asked students “How many nights a week do you and your family sit down for dinner together?” Fifty two percent reported they ate at least once a week with their family. Those who ate dinner at least once a week with their family were more likely to report better health status (p<0.001), plan to go to college (p<0.001), feel well informed about the dangers of smoking (OR=1.3, p<0.019), think that smoking is dangerous (p<0.001), talk to both parents about the dangers of smoking (p<0.001), feel cigarettes are addictive (p=0.007), participate in community activities discouraging peers from using cigarettes (p<0.001). Further, they were less likely to have been suspended (OR =1.7, p<0.001), ever tried a cigarette (OR=1.4, p<0.001), feel smokers have more friends (p<0.001). The impact of this study shows that if a family eats together only once a week it can make a huge impact on the attitudes of their children. Health educators should not only encourage parents to talk to their children about unhealthy behaviors, but also suggest vehicles for conversation – such as the dinner table.