https://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Can Americans really eat healthy for just $3 a meal? https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-01-agriculture-secretary-healthy-meals-critics.html Tue, 20 Jan 2026 20:20:02 EST news688137589 In the 10 years since the federal government established the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), which enabled universal free meal programs for schools in low-income communities, studies have suggested the policy has wide-ranging benefits. Students in participating schools choose lunches with higher nutritional quality, are suspended less frequently and may perform better academically. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-09-schools-universal-free-meals-students.html Thu, 25 Sep 2025 13:02:27 EDT news678024143 Many families find feeding children a constant challenge. A favorite food is suddenly refused, someone is grumpy after a long day, siblings fight at the table. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-08-kids-daily-wouldnt-instagram.html Wed, 13 Aug 2025 13:17:54 EDT news674309868 Feeding children more nutritious meals may not make them vegetable lovers, but can promote healthier weight over time by reducing the added sugar and fat they consume, finds a Cornell-led study that implemented one of the largest-scale dietary interventions focused on young people. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-10-nutritious-meals-aid-children-weight.html Wed, 02 Oct 2024 16:07:32 EDT news647104046 Research from City St George's, University of London (My Home Life England initiative) reveals the breadth of experiences of older people living in care homes across the UK. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-09-uk-reveals-ways-homes-older.html Mon, 09 Sep 2024 13:21:03 EDT news645106861 A review of U.S. data from 2012 through 2024 finds that when kids get free school meals, there's a potential for a slight increase in attendance and a lowering of child obesity rates. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-08-free-meals-school-boost-obesity.html Wed, 21 Aug 2024 07:36:28 EDT news643444582 Does it seem like the busier your family gets, the slimmer the chances are that you'll see each other at dinner—or any other meal, for that matter? https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-06-pediatrician-benefits-family-meals.html Mon, 17 Jun 2024 09:50:01 EDT news637834915 Healthy kidneys are vital to your well-being. As well as getting rid of waste from your body in your pee, they also have a role in controlling blood pressure, keeping your blood count high and keeping your bones healthy. To keep your kidneys healthy there are several things you can do to help yourself. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-04-kidneys-healthy-wrong.html Wed, 10 Apr 2024 14:10:01 EDT news631971768 Australian parents face similar barriers to delivering regular and nutritious meals as families did in the 1990s, amid increasing cost of living and time pressures that have been ignored for thirty years, according to new research. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-12-spotlight-family-meals.html Mon, 04 Dec 2023 13:14:04 EST news620918042 Chronic, constant stress can increase lifetime risk of heart disease and stroke, but a new survey from the American Heart Association, a global force for longer, healthier lives for all, reveals regular mealtime with others could be a simple solution to help manage stress. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-10-survey-parents-family-stressed.html Tue, 11 Oct 2022 04:03:22 EDT news584679797 When schools closed during the first year of the pandemic, an immediate and potentially devastating problem surfaced: How would millions of children in struggling families get the school meals many of them depended on? https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-09-pandemic-federal-kids-access-billion.html Fri, 09 Sep 2022 16:10:10 EDT news581958592 Q: My kids are such picky eaters. How can I get them to try healthier options? https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-12-pediatrician-parents-kids-healthier-foods.html Mon, 20 Dec 2021 11:30:03 EST news559221602 There is a deafening silence regarding household food insecurity in Australia, particularly when it comes to children. Food is a basic human right and the government's response has been dismal and could even be considered a crime. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-07-im-wont-money-food-children.html Fri, 09 Jul 2021 10:50:01 EDT news545045818 A new paper in JAMA Network Open, written by Berkeley Public Health Professor of Community Health Sciences Barbara Laraia, Ph.D., MPH, RD, Anil Aswani, Ph.D., associate professor of industrial engineering and operations research at UC Berkeley, and Matt Olfat, Ph.D., of Citadel LLC, finds that SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps) recipients who had more available time were able to prepare higher quality meals, which reduced sodium consumption for them and their families. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-food-recipients-cook.html Mon, 28 Jun 2021 10:37:47 EDT news544095462 For all the parents feeling exhausted by the cooking, cleaning and planning of a million meals during the pandemic, there's some good news. Commensality, or the sharing of food with others, is beneficial for your physical and mental health. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-04-family-meals-good-grown-ups-kids.html Fri, 30 Apr 2021 10:40:03 EDT news538997765 Eating together as a family, maintaining the Mediterranean diet's traditional customs of conviviality, influences the eating habits of adolescents and prevents eating behavior disorders, according to a new study prepared by scientists from the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) and the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) and published in the open access International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-04-meals-obesity-health-adolescents.html Tue, 06 Apr 2021 12:53:32 EDT news536932410 Engaging in family meals may be a matter of improving communication and support at home. A new study in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, connects less family discouragement and better family communication with a higher likelihood to eat evening family meals and family breakfasts together, and not in front of a television. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-06-engaging-family-meals-healthy.html Mon, 08 Jun 2020 03:32:15 EDT news510805894 Trapped in the house with a cupboard full of food: Social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic can spawn an unintended side effect—stress eating. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-04-stress-social-distancing.html Thu, 02 Apr 2020 10:30:02 EDT news505041626 At least six US states have ordered schools to close in an attempt to curb the spread of the new coronavirus which has infected more than 1,660 people across the country. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-03-states-schools-halt-coronavirus.html Fri, 13 Mar 2020 05:59:45 EDT news503297982 Parents and children who share regular family meals are known to have better health and diet quality than those who have family members who eat at separate times. However, the schedule of team sports or other enriching organized activities for children can make it difficult for families to eat together. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-02-child-family-meals.html Mon, 24 Feb 2020 09:00:40 EST news501757237 Turning the TV off, taking time to eat, not arguing at the table: Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Human Development and the University of Mannheim have evaluated studies examining the quality of family meals. Their findings can serve as guidelines for parents and guardians wanting to help their children establish healthy eating habits. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-10-components-healthy-family-meals.html Tue, 15 Oct 2019 10:12:25 EDT news490353135 (HealthDay)—Family meals are a recipe for healthy eating in kids, nutritionists say. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-08-family-meals-busy-day.html Sat, 10 Aug 2019 10:10:01 EDT news484650061 (HealthDay)—Heartfelt talks between parent and child are essential to help kids overcome tough times and do their best at school, a new study says. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-07-parent-kids-trauma.html Tue, 09 Jul 2019 13:30:09 EDT news481894887 A scheme that helped parents plan well-balanced family dinners for three months kept their children healthier for years after, a study has found. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-04-healthy-meal-kits-boost-children.html Wed, 17 Apr 2019 08:51:30 EDT news474709886 When families gather for dinner at night, they spend nearly half of their time distracted by electronic devices, toys and tasks that take them physically or mentally away from the table, a new study found. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-04-families-evening-meal-distracted-technology.html Tue, 02 Apr 2019 07:38:52 EDT news473409507 Parents hoping to raise teenagers with positive body image might just find helpful tools in the kitchen every morning. A new study from the University of Missouri says consistently eating breakfast as a family might promote positive body image for children and adolescents. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-03-breakfast-parents-positive-body-image.html Thu, 21 Mar 2019 12:47:57 EDT news472391266 The affordability of healthy food is often cited as a barrier to low-income families eating nutritious meals. A new study published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior found that with menu planning and access to stores selling items in bulk, the average daily cost for serving healthy meals to a family of four was $25 in 2010 dollars. This cost was consistent with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) low-income cost of food meal plan, but higher than the cost of the USDA Thrifty Food Plan. The Thrifty Food Plan is the meal plan used by the USDA to determine food assistance benefits. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-03-healthy-limited.html Wed, 06 Mar 2019 11:47:39 EST news471095249 (HealthDay)—People caring for a loved one with Alzheimer's or other types of dementia should focus on four main safety issues, an expert says. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-11-key-strategies-dementia.html Mon, 26 Nov 2018 04:50:16 EST news462430206 Successful obesity prevention starts at home – at the family dinner table. The results of a meta-analysis conducted at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development and the University of Mannheim have been published in Obesity Reviews. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-01-frequent-family-meals-good-nutritional.html Fri, 19 Jan 2018 09:39:35 EST news435577167 Children who routinely eat their meals together with their family are more likely to experience long-term physical and mental health benefits, a new Canadian study shows. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-12-family-children-physically-mentally.html Thu, 14 Dec 2017 09:13:31 EST news432465203