Eating Breakfast and Family Meals in Adolescence: The Role of Body Image

ABSTRACT

Regularly eating breakfast and meals with family has important health implications for youth. However, the association between eating breakfast and family meals regularly with body image has not been explored. Utilizing the 2009–2010 World Health Organization’s Health Behavior in School-Aged Children U.S. survey (N = 12,642), we sought to begin this conversation. Our findings suggest that eating breakfast and meals with parents more regularly may be related to more positive body image. This cross-sectional glance suggests that policies and programs that encourage youth and families to regularly eat breakfast and family meals may also encourage better body image among youth.

KEYWORDS:

• Body image
• eating behavior
• family meals
• eating breakfast
• adolescence

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.