Longer Mealtimes Helps Kids Eat More Fruits and Veggies (www.webmd.com)

But those studies were based on parents reporting the information.

The researchers wanted to directly observe the family meals to test specifically whether the duration of the meal could contribute to kids eating more fruits and vegetables.

Creative Ways to Increase Healthy Eating in Kids

The current study showed that children ate seven more pieces of fruits and vegetables, which translates to about one portion per meal, during the longer mealtimes.

This outcome has practical importance for public health because 1 additional daily portion reduces the risk of cardiometabolic disease by 6 to 7, the authors wrote.

Longer family meals were also tied with a slower eating rate, increased sense of fullness, and a lower risk of obesity possibly because increases in satiety played a role in reduced snacking between meals.

Beyond the increased length of the meal, the researchers think that cutting up the fruits and vegetables might have helped, although that still needs to be tested by empirical research, Mata said.