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nursing research PHOTOALTO/MEDIABAKERY Healthy Family Meals 14 minnesota nursing
esearch Jayne Fulkerson • Child/adolescent health: prevention and health promotion regarding eating disorders, obesity, depression and substance abuse • Family-based health promotion • Psychometrics/instrument development jayne fulkerson increasing the time families spend around the table BY MARY KING HOFF As a psychologist, Jayne Fulkerson, PhD, has seen firsthand the many threats to the well-being of American children: challenges to self-esteem, unhealthful eating, problems with weight control and obesity, a sometimes-shortchanged need for family connection and cohesion. She also sees at least a partial solution: family meals. POSITIVE CORRELATIONS Before joining the SoN faculty, Fulkerson spent several years as a senior research associate working on a series of children’s health promotion studies in the School of Public Health. Along with colleagues Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, PhD, and Mary Story, PhD, she found a correlation between participation in family meals and developmental assets like positive values, positive self-esteem, and sociability. Lack of participation was correlated with traits such as depression, violence, and eating disordered behaviors. “When I realized that family meals were not only related to better eating habits, but that they were also related to well-being in kids, that really intrigued me,” Fulkerson says. Further research added other dimensions to the picture. One study found that parents, young adolescents, and older teens believed that family meals were important—although this might come as a surprise to parents of teens. Another study supported the notion that family meals, particularly when they create a positive environment, are associated with psychological well-being in young people. But it was also abundantly clear that when the realities of everyday life came into play, family meals often were among the activities that are crossed off the list. “Sports, church, work schedules, all kinds of things interfere with family meals,” Fulkerson says. IDENTIFYING THE BARRIERS Fulkerson wondered how busy families could increase the time spent around the table. To find out, she applied for and received funding from the National Institutes of Health for a project called “Healthy Offerings Via the Mealtime Environment” or HOME. This study aims to improve nutritional intake and prevent obesity by promoting healthful family meals. The first step was a survey of Twin Cities parents to identify what would help them have more family meals. Fulkerson used these findings to begin development of the HOME study. “Some parents joked that they wanted maids and chefs,” she says with a smile. But, she quickly adds, “That’s not going to work in the real world, and it shows the time pressure parents feel.” On a more practical level, the adults identified a number of specific factors, ranging from exhaustion to lack of planning that made it tough for them to eat meals together on a regular basis. ˘ spring/summer 2008 15
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