Nicole Ritter

November 16, 2015

English 202A.201
Peer-Reviewed Article #2

Berge, J. M., Wall, M., Hsueh, T. F., Fulkerson, J. A., Larson, N., & Neumark-Sztainer, D. (2015).
The protective role of family meals for youth obesity: 10-year longitudinal associations.
The Journal of Pediatrics, 166(2), 296-301.
The primary purpose of this article is to examine whether having family meals protects
adolescents from becoming overweight or obese in young adulthood. The article was published
in The Journal of Pediatrics by a group of pediatric physicians. The 2,117 study participants
were both ethnically and socioeconomically diverse with 52 percent representing minorities and
38 percent living in low-income households. The adolescents were surveyed in their high
schools, and then contacted ten years later for follow-up testing. The study examined an
important developmental time frame, transitioning from adolescence to young adulthood, which
is a common time to gain weight and to have fewer family meals (Berge, 2015).
The results of the study indicated that eating meals with family during adolescence had a
significant association with a healthy weight ten years later as a young adult. Among those who
reported that they never ate family meals together, 60 percent of them were overweight at 10year follow-up and 29 percent were obese. In comparison, among adolescents who reported
that they ate meals with family, 49 percent of them were overweight after the ten years and 20
percent were obese. There are several factors that influenced this correlation. Higher
frequencies of family meals are associated with more consumption of fruit and vegetables,
calcium and whole grains, lower levels of extreme weight control behaviors and binge eating,
and better psychosocial health in adolescents (Berge, 2015). The most significant finding in the
study was that African-American youth benefited the most by having at least 1-2 meals per
week with family, compared to those who had none.
Obesity has become an epidemic in the United States, as it leads to several health
problems and early death. Preventing obesity starts with a healthy lifestyle in adolescence, as
the study suggests. Professionals who work with adolescents and parents may want to
strategize with them how to successfully carry out at least 1 to 2 family meals per week in order
to protect adolescents from overweight or obesity in young adulthood (Berge, 2015). Promoting
family meals is beneficial for both adolescent physiological and psychological well-being.
This article was written in a medical journal, whose target audience is health care
professionals. However, the language and writing style was concise and easy to read, making it

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suitable for anyone. While the article was well-written, the research itself had some flaws.
Surveys do not yield reliable results because they are a self-reporting research method. Body
weight and eating habits are something that adolescents and young adults may be dishonest
about. Although I agree that family meal time is an essential factor in adolescent development,
this article would be better supported by a more intricate method of research.