Barriers to Healthy Family Dinners and Preventing Child Obesity: Focus Group Discussions with Parents of 5-to-8-Year-Old Children

Abstract

Background: Although numerous physical and mental health benefits for children have been linked to family dinners, many families still do not have regular family meals together. This study sought to identify the barriers that keep families from having dinners together.

Methods: We interviewed 42 parents of 5-to-8-year-old children in small focus groups to identify barriers and challenges that keep families from having healthy and consistent dinners together.

Results: Parents reported the main barriers were time (e.g., time strain and overscheduling, mismatched schedules, long work hours, etc.), lack of meal planning or failure to follow plans, lack of skills (e.g., cooking skills or nutritional awareness), external factors (e.g., daycare, schools, or extended family, and competing with advertising), and food-related challenges (e.g., picky eating, food allergies). Parents also suggested potential solutions to overcome these barriers.

Conclusions: Overall, parents had a desire to have family dinners with their children, but they felt that there are many barriers keeping them from establishing or maintaining consistent family mealtimes. Future research, as well as child obesity prevention and intervention efforts, should consider these barriers and suggested solutions in efforts to promote healthy and consistent family meals as a means of lowering the prevalence of childhood obesity.

Keywords: barriers; child obesity; family dinners; focus groups; nutrition information; qualitative methodology.