Eating at Home Prevents Childhood Obesity: New Study

A new study by researchers at the University of Granada concluded that eating at home rather than grabbing food on-the-go or at restaurants can prevent childhood obesity. In fact, there is a “significant direct relationship between the nutritional status of children and the person who prepares their meal.”

The study’s participants were 718 public and private school students in Spain between the ages of nine and 17. Out of the children surveyed, those whose mothers prepared their lunches were much less likely to be obese than those who had lunch prepared by someone outside the family.

While the benefits of home-cooked meals have long been known, this study’s strong conclusion adds to an ever-growing body of research that links convenience food with the serious problem of childhood obesity.

Tips for busy families
What family isn’t busy? Between juggling multiple jobs, daycare, school, and extra-curricular activities, saying that it can be difficult to get a home-cooked meal on the table three times a day is an understatement. However, these tips for breakfast, lunch, and dinner might help.

Breakfast

• Try these delicious breakfast cereal recipes. And when the day is proving too hectic, refer to the article’s tips for choosing a healthy breakfast cereal. 
• At the very least, a healthy meal replacement bar is far superior to a greasy fast-food breakfast sandwich, or a muffin the size of softball.

Lunch

• Try these quick and easy lunch ideas, and check out the article’s lunch packing tips.
• Try this meal plan for kids’ lunches that are fast, easy, and sure to be devoured. 
• Check out these lunch recipes, as well as the article’s 10 Top Tips to Make your Brown Bag Better. 
• Make a Mason Jar Salad!

Dinner

• Keep these pantry staples stocked at all times, so you never have an excuse to grab take-out. 
• Freeze or can foods in advance, so they’ll be on hold for one of those days.