"The Remarkable Impact of Sharing Meals with Parents: Crucial for Adolescent Health"

Depression Decreased by 9%, Anxiety by 8%
One in Eight Adolescents Shares Meals With Family Fewer Than Four Times a Week

One out of eight adolescents eats with their parents fewer than four times a week. It was also found that the more frequently adolescents share meals with their parents, the lower their levels of stress, depression, and anxiety tend to be during adolescence.

A scene from the KBS2 TV Gag Concert segment "Conversation Is Needed," which emphasized the importance of dialogue against the backdrop of family meals. Captured from KBS2 TV

On August 16, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) released the results of a study conducted by the research team of Kang Ju-hyun, Kim Baek, and Kim Sung-ho. The team analyzed the longitudinal association between the frequency of parent-accompanied meals in early adolescence and mental health in later adolescence, using data from the KDCA's Adolescent Health Panel Survey.

The Adolescent Health Panel Survey tracks the health behaviors and related factors of 5,051 students who were in 6th grade of elementary school in 2019 and will continue annually through 2028. This study included 3,986 participants who responded to all five years of the survey from 2019 to 2023.

The photo is not directly related to the content of the article. Pixabay

The research team examined how often 6th graders and 1st-year middle school students in the early adolescence period, from 2019 to 2020, ate meals with their parents and analyzed the correlation between this frequency and their mental health status from 2nd-year middle school to 1st-year high school.

According to the survey, 514 of the participants, or 12.9% of the total, ate with their parents fewer than four times per week. This group had a higher proportion of adolescents from high-income households and dual-income households compared to those who had meals with their parents four or more times per week.

The groups also showed differences in mental health indicators. Adolescents who ate with their parents fewer than four times per week were more likely to experience severe stress in six areas: school, family, friendships, economic matters, appearance, and the future. Family cohesion was also lower among this group compared to those who had family meals four or more times per week.

In particular, the frequency of shared meals with parents was shown to be associated with later mental health. For every additional day per week spent eating with parents during early adolescence, the likelihood of experiencing severe stress in later years dropped by 12%, depression by 9%, and high levels of anxiety by 8%.

The researchers stated, "These results suggest that having meals with parents could be a supportive daily life factor for adolescent mental health," adding, "This can serve as foundational data for future educational, counseling, and community programs aimed at promoting adolescent mental health."

This study was selected as an outstanding research award winner at the KDCA's 'Adolescent Health Panel Raw Data Utilization Competition and Academic Conference.'

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.