April 21, 2023
If children stay at the table for just 10 minutes longer during meal times, they are likely to consume more fruits and vegetables, a study conducted in Germany has shown.
The results of the randomized clinical trial, published in the JAMA Network Open on April 18, shows children ate, on average, 100 grams more fruits and vegetables when they stayed at the table for a total of 30 minutes.
Researchers hope the study can provide a starting point for families to improve their children’s nutritional health.
“This outcome has practical importance for public health because one additional daily portion of fruit and vegetables reduces the risk of cardiometabolic disease by 6 to 7 per cent,” Jutta Mata, professor of health psychology at the University of Mannheim, said in a press release.