A Study Describes Benefits Of Sharing A Meal With Loved Ones

Oct, 2022 - By SMI

A recent research has put light on the ways how having food with your family or friends helps building a physically and socially healthy life.

In this era of fast moving day and busy work schedule, sitting down for a meal with your family or colleagues is not given much importance. Nowadays many people are so occupied at their jobs that they cannot help having meal on their work desk itself. Many others probably don’t have a definite time to sit down for a meal. But now a research has found out that sharing our meal with our family or with those we care about, talking to them, exchanging thoughts while we eat, is beneficial for our mental as well as physical health. It helps reduce stress and lowers the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke by reducing chronic stress.

A study was conducted on 1000 American adults which examined their dining habits. The report of this study, which was published by American Heart Association stated that 91% of participants experienced that their family is less stressed when they have a meal together, at least once in a day.
The study also found out that when a family sits down together to have a meal, it helps develop healthier food choices. Some people have habits of drinking alcohol or smoking while they have their meal. But through this study it was claimed that when there is family sitting beside, to share meal, such habits don’t usually come up.

Apart from health benefits, sharing a meal together also helps to develop a strong social and cultural relationships. Sitting together for a meal, is an advised therapy for the families undergoing problems among themselves. It also helps develop communication skills among the children and establish self-esteem among them.