关上电视，坐下来和家人共餐吧。这样做的青少年比较不容易饮食失调。
一项研究已经证实，和全家一起吃饭的人患暴食症或厌食症的几率会较低，而且通常会按时进餐。那些一直和全家围桌共餐的青少年也不大会为了减肥而吸烟。
研究员芭芭拉·费瑟说，“人们通常认为，十来岁的孩子们不喜欢太多地待在父母身边，他们忙东忙西，哪有时间和家人一起定时吃饭。”
“也许家长做不到让全家每周七天都在一起吃饭，但是如果一周能安排三次家庭聚餐，就是对孩子健康极大的保护了。”
费瑟教授是在回顾了17项有关饮食结构和营养状况的研究之后，发表上述评论的。这些研究涵盖了近20万儿童和青少年。
她发现，那些一周和家人共餐至少五次的青少年，患饮食紊乱的可能性要低35%。
饮食紊乱包括暴食之后催吐(暴食症患者最爱用的方法)、吃减肥药或泻药、不吃饭、吃得极少，以及为保持体重而吸烟。
就算孩子每周只和家人一起吃三顿饭，他们超重的可能性也比其他不常和家人一起吃饭的孩子要低12%。
而且据《小儿科》杂志报道，他们食用健康食品和养成健康饮食习惯的可能性，也要比那些每周和家人共餐少于三次的青少年高出24%。
青少年还可以趁全家共餐的时候，让父母了解自己的想法。
Teenagers who switch off the TV and sit down to family meals are less likely to suffer eating disorders。
A study has credited eating together with lower rates of bulimia and anorexia. Meals are also less likely to be skipped, and adolescents used to eating round the table are less likely to take up smoking to lose weight。
Researcher Barbara Fiese said: ‘The common belief is that teens don’t want to be around their parents very much, and that teens are just too busy for regular meals with the family。
‘Parents may not be able to get their families together around the table seven days a week, but if they can schedule three family meals a week, they will safeguard their teens’ health in significant ways。
Professor Fiese spoke out after reviewing 17 studies on eating patterns and nutrition involving almost 200,000 children and teenagers。
She found that teens who eat at least five meals a week with their families are 35 percent less likely to be ‘disordered eaters’。
The definition of disordered eating involves bingeing followed by vomiting - a tack favoured by those suffering bulimia - taking diet pills or laxatives, skipping meals, eating very little and smoking to keep a lid on weight。
Even three family meals a week helped, with youngsters 12 percent less likely to be overweight than those who ate with their families less often。
They were also 24 percent more likely to eat healthy foods and have healthy eating habits than those who didn’t share three meals with their families, the journal Pediatrics reports。
Teens can also use family meals as a time to get their thoughts across。