Many previous studies have highlighted the health benefits of home-cooked meals and family dinners. However, as beneficial as these may be, they also have some side effects. A new study by researchers from North Carolina State University found that asking sitting down to a home-cooked meal can be very stressful for some families.
The study was conducted on 150 female caregivers in families with children between the ages of 2 and 8, and 12 of these families were observed for a total of 250 hours.
"We wanted to understand the relationship between this ideal that is presented in popular culture and the realities that people live with when it comes to feeding their children," Sarah Bowen, an associate professor of sociology at NC State and co-author of a paper on the ongoing study, said in a press statement. "We found that middle-class, working-class, and poor families faced some similar challenges. For example, mothers from all backgrounds reported difficulty in finding time to prepare meals that everyone in the family would be willing to eat."
Middle-class mothers' dilemma was giving quality time and providing the best cooked meal meaning using expensive organically grown produce.
For poor families cost was a consideration which made it difficult for them to have access to fresh produce, pay for transport to grocery stores and buy appropriate kitchen utensils and tools
"Poor mothers also skipped meals and stood in long lines at non-profit food pantries to provide food for their children," Bowen said. "This idea of a home-cooked meal is appealing, but it's unrealistic for a lot of families," Bowen adds. "We as a society need to develop creative solutions to support families and help share the work of providing kids with healthy meals."
Earlier last week, a new study reported that family dinners may help protect teens from the consequences of cyberbullying and also be beneficial for their mental health.
"There are a lot of ways we could do this, from community kitchens where families work together to arranging to-go meals from schools," Sinikka Elliott, an associate professor of sociology at NC State who co-authored current study, added. "There is no one answer. But we hope this work inspires people to start thinking outside the family kitchen about broader things we as a society can do when it comes to food and health."
Earlier this year, First Lady Michelle Obama urged people to start cooking their meals at home more often because it is healthy and saves money. Addressing a health summit in Washington, the First Lady highlighted the benefits of cooking at home saying that home-cooked meals have less fat, sodium, cholesterol and calories than meals prepared in restaurants, according to USA Today.
She also highlighted the fact that research showed that eating meals cooked at home was one of the best ways families can improve their health.
"Now is not the time to take our foot off the gas and congratulate ourselves on a job well done," she said, according to ABC News. "Just the opposite. Now is the time to fight even harder, because we now know it is possible to make a difference on this issue. We know that our strategies are beginning to work."
The study was published online in the journal Contexts. This project was supported by Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grant from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
